Malaysian Footballer arrives to join Kalimpong's Share FC for training

Malaysian Footballer Stevenson Sundara Segaran arrived in Bagdogra Airport yesterday afternoon to join with North Bengal side Share FC for training in Kalimpong. His aim is to play in the I-league or any other professional club of the country and has accepted Share FC's offer to practice with the club players which will help him to acclimatize in Indian conditions.

Stevenson said, "I look forward to training with Share Football Club and hope I can offer also help out the younger players there, also I am looking forward to seeing Kalimpong and enjoying my time there."

Stevenson has had a stint with a Football Academy in Brazil in 2006 and plays as a midfielder. Last season he had played in the Kuala Lumpur First Division League in Malaysia.

Stevenson's first match for Share FC might be on April 6 when the club will turn out to play in an exhibition match against IIS Football Club from Thailand at Mela Ground in Kalimpong.

IIS FC is a team made-up of players from Ramkhamhaeng University which is based in Bangkok. This match is being hosted by Share FC for the general entertainment of the football loving people of Kalimpong and also to give its footballers that feel of playing against a quality foreign side.

The Share FC General Secretary said, "We welcome Stevenson with open arms and we are also thankful to him for accepting our proposal of training with a small club like ours, this has proved in a small way that we are moving in the right direction, We will provide all our support to Stevenson."

Stevenson reached Kalimpong last evening and is expected to have this first training session with his new team today itself.

Malaysian Footballer to join Kalimpong's Share FC

Malaysian Footballer, Stevenson Sundara Segaran will join Share FC from Kalimpong for training and he is also expected to play some matches for the Club. Stevenson has had a stint with a Football Academy in Brazil in 2006 and plays as a midfielder. Last season he had played in the Kuala Lumpur First Division League in Malaysia. He is scheduled to arrive in Kalimpong on March 23.

The ultimate aim for this Malaysian/Tamil footballer for coming to India is to play in the I-League. Though that's not an easy task but Stevenson sounded optimistic.

"I think if I get the right support and the contacts I will be able to play in the I-League and with that in mind I have decided to do some training with Share Football Club, Kalimpong as it will be difficult for me to do the same with any high profile club in India as I am still an unknown footballer there."

Stevenson has also played in the Selangor State League in Malaysia and he is looking forward to being in Kalimpong he said, "I am really looking forward to my training in Kalimpong and I have been told by Share Football Club officials that it is a lovely place, from the football aspect I will train hard and try to contribute my bit towards the club and also help out the players there by sharing my own experience."

Share Football Club General Secretary, Norden M. Lepcha said, "with very limited resources at our disposal we are trying to run our club in a professional manner which is a tough ask, but we are satisfied with what we have achieved in a very short span of about two years. Now Stevenson coming to our club for training shows that we are being viewed by the people as an organized club, We welcome him to our club!"

Stevenson's first match for Share Football Club might be on April 6 when the club will turn out to play in an exhibition match against IIS Football Club. Thailand at Mela Ground in Kalimpong. IIS FC is a team made up of players from Ramkhamhaeng University which is based in Bangkok. This match is being hosted by Share Football Club for the general entertainment of the football loving people of Kalimpong and also to give its footballers that feel of playing with a quality foreign team.

Apex FC, Kalimpong to Honor its Founder with a Tournament!

Kalimpong's Apex FC based in the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration will host a football tournament from September 10 to honour the memory of the club's founder Raju Rana who passed away this year on April 7 after prolonged illness. The tournament has been named Late Raju Rana Memorial Football Tournament. Well know clubs from across the Kalimpong sub-division are expected to participate along with a few clubs from the neighbouring state of Sikkim and from Kolkata.

Apex FC is one of the most successful clubs of Kalimpong and its surrounding areas having won the prestigious Sahid Cup last year. The club has also won the Kalimpong league and other tournaments over the years. Sahid Cup is held every year in memory of the martyrs who laid down their lives for the cause of Gorkhaland and is regarded as one of the major tournaments of this region.

Raju Rana was instrumental in setting up the Apex FC in 2007, with a noble vision to give youngsters the much needed platform and exposure of playing against better teams from outside Kalimpong. Rana was not a footballer himself but his passion and love for the game was unconditional and he always went that extra yard to help young footballers in need. So he was called Mama affectionately by most of footballers in Kalimpong.

He began an active role as a manager by forming a team of his own for the Village Tournaments. The players themselves suggested that they would call the team 'RAJU 7' and the team created records that are still unbeaten at the Village Level in the Kalimpong area. No tournament at any village was complete without the presence of 'RAJU 7'. The team won many tournaments under the expert guidance of Raju Rana.

Eventually, players themselves were confident and asked 'Raju Mama' if they could put together a better team to play at a higher level. In no time the boys got together and a full fledged team was formed in the year 2007 and was named Apex Football Club. There was no looking back as the team put their heart and soul in every game and they soon became a house hold name in Kalimpong. Raju Rana single handly managed the team and the coach was Chandra Kumar Rai. He holds a coaching certificate from the FA, England. The team was 'one big family' and every player was like Raju Rana's son. He would encourage them in every possible way not only on the field but also in their lives.

Football was something he loved beyond measures. Many dreams were left unfulfilled with his sudden demise Yet his boys are confident and certain that 'Raju Mama' is looking down on them and urging them to live on his dream.

Kalimpong's Share FC launch own website

Kalimpong's Share FC in another first for the Darjeeling Hills has launched the club's official website at a function. The URLs of the website will be www.sharefootballclub.com and www.sharefootballclub.org .

With this Share FC has become the first football club from the hills to have its own Website. Pranab Pariyar, Share FC president, said, "We have already set a trend to bring about marked changes in how football is run in our region, last month we released our magazine and music CD, and now this website which we plan to use it as a medium to promote not only our club but also football news from our region."

The website has been designed and developed by an IT firm based in Singtam, Sikkim called Izytech and the developers have designed it in the most modern fashion. The features of the site are the options to upload videos, fanzone where the people can download club songs and other materials along with the magazine.

The site was launched by the club advisers Prashad Pradhan and Anand Pradhan during the media conference held at a hotel here in Kalimpong.

Also in another first the club has recently paid the college fees of six players who are currently pursuing Graduation from Kalimpong College.

The club also wanted to thank the football loving people of Kalimpong who came out and supported the 2nd June Exhibition match against the Hill All-Stars which has encouraged the club even further to keep working hard to promote football in this region.

More information about Share FC can also be found under www.facebook.com/sharefootballclub .

Hill All Stars vs Share FC on June 2 in Kalimpong

The Hill All Stars take on local side Share FC on June 2 at the Mela Ground in Kalimpong (District of Darjeeling) to raise funds for Share FC. The Hill All Stars will see I-league stars like Nirmal Chettri and Sanju Pradhan taking part in the match. The match will kick-off at 14.00 IST on Saturday, June 2.

The organisers say they want to use the funds generated from the match for the development of football in the Hills, especially for the development of local Kalimpong club Share FC, which was formed only in May 2010 and a month back created history for football in the Hills by offered legal contracts to all its 26 players as the first club in the region.

The organisers of the match are promoting the game in a big way with hoarding and posters all over Kalimpong town to get as many fans to come to the game as possible with local radio station Red FM helping in the promotion of the match.

The Hill All Stars team will feature players like Nirmal Chettri (India/Mohun Bagan), Sanju Pradhan (Captain, East Bengal), Nim Tshering Lepcha (Captain, United Sikkim FC), Bijendra Rai (India Juniors/Pailan Arrows), Ashish Chettri (India U-16) and host of other professional footballers from the Hills.

Former India captain Baichung Bhutia has also given his full support for the match and has donated his India and United Sikkim FC Jerseys for auction. Sanju Pradhan and Nirmal Chetri will also do the same and the organisers hope to raise funds from the auctions of these jersey's.