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Tata Football Academy and Sheffield Club Partner for Training
Aug. 20, 2010 Sheffield United Football Club (SUFC) has agreed to impart professional soccer training to Tata Football Academy (TFA) coaches and cadets. SUFC will develop a 12-month program on coaching, fitness, and professional development of coaches and cadets.
The coach in charge will impart lessons on technical aspects of the game, while the fitness coach will advise the team on sports science, strength and conditioning work, and dietary requirements. The training will also include lessons on strategy for player recruitment, identification, and profiling.
On an exchange visit as part of the curriculum, TFA coaches will visit SUFC academy to study the coaching pattern, strength and condition methods. This training is primarily designed to improve the training modules at TFA.
“The tie-up with Sheffield United Football Club of UK will open a new chapter in offering advanced professional training for the cadets of TFA and give them an opportunity to expose them to professional football,” Sanjiv Paul said. “We look forward to the tie-up as a beginning of a new phase where we hope that our cadets will raise the bar in Indian football and hopefully improve its world ranking.”
“This tie-up between Sheffield and TFA will start a new chapter for SUFC in India, which has a great tradition for football and unmatched enthusiasm,” Mr. Cameron said. “We hope to channel this into producing world-class football teams in the coming years.”
The Tata Football Academy is an enterprise by Tata Steel to supplement the efforts of the All India Football Federation (AIFF) in enhancing Indian football standards by nurturing young talents. Established in 1987, TFA has successfully trained more than 164 cadets with nearly 75% of them representing India in various international competitive tournaments and exposure visits.
Sheffield United Football Club was formed as an offshoot of the Sheffield United Cricket Club. Its nickname, The Blades, is a reference to Sheffield's long history of steel manufacturing. SUFC is a founding member of the Premier League.