Pailan Group to sponsor Bengal Youth Development program

The Pailan Group, the partners and sponsors of the AIFF's Developmental side, the renamed Pailan Arrows will now also support the development of Bengal youth football. At a press conference at the Bengal Club in Kolkata yesterday it was announced that the Pailan Group would sponsor the Indian Football Association (West Bengal) youth development program.

The IFA is happy to be able to sign a sponsorship deal worth Rs 1 crore per years with the Pailan Group for its youth development program which will include the IFA Residential Academy (under-15 & U-19), the IFA district camps, the school football tournament - the Bankim Cup and the Under-19 Bengal state team.

For the IFA the support of the Pailan Group will hopefully enable it to develop Bengal football and especially young talent which over the years has dried-up with the big clubs able to attract Indian talent from across the country.

Present on the occasion of the announcement of the deal were AIFF and IFA vice-president Subrata Dutta, IFA honorary secretary Utpal Ganguli and Pailan Group chairman Apurba Saha besides others.

Indian Arrows introduce new Chief Coach Arthur Papas

The Pailan Arrows, the AIFF's developmental side in the I-League, introduced their new chief coach Arthur Papas from Australia to the media in a press conference at the Hotel Hindusthan in Kolkata today. The press conference was attended by the AIFF Project Director for the Arrows Subhankar Mukherjee, the Pailan Group chairman Apurba Saha besides Arthur Papas.

The new coaching staff of the Pailan Arrows would consist of Arthur Papas as chief coach, his assistant coaches would be fellow Australian Aaron Symon, who is new, and Sujit Chakraborty; while Tanomoy Bose would continue as Goalkeeping Coach.

At the press conference it was disclosed that in total 36 players had been signed for the Pailan Arrows with all players in the Under-23 category and an aim to develop talent for the senior national team.

Arthur Papas comes to the Arrows after having coached the India Under-22 boys at the AFC U-22 Championship qualifiers in Oman. The team impressed everyone with their strong displays and numerous of the Under-22 boys are part of the Arrows or have joined the team over the summer.

Speaking about the pressure of coaching the Arrows Papas said, "Being a new team, our aim is to ensure we improve on our performance. We all know about our poor performance in the last two seasons. So I am hoping we can better that."

Papas said about the fact that his boys cannot get relegated from the I-League, "The best thing about the team is that it has young kids who want to win all the time and are not worried about being relegated. It neither demotivates them nor demotivates me. I used to coach the team in Australia under the same format and now the team tops the league there," Papas added.

"The ultimate point is to play and improve and then finally play for India. There is no denying that we have to develop last year's show and we are confident. My experience has been positive here and I feel more and more games will help the player grow," Papas added.

So far the young Aussie has impressed with his coaching, but the Pailan Arrows and a whole season of the I-League will be a different affair then international youth football.

VIDEO: The new Pailan Arrows Team Bus

Bengali sports program XtraTime on ABP Ananda yesterday did a story on the Pailan Group sponsored AIFF Developmental side Pailan Arrows now have their own team bus to travel within Kolkata for matches and other events. The highlight is that the bus depicts photos of world and local football stars on the outside like Maradona, Messi, Kaka, etc besides Baichung Bhutia and other ex-India stars.

Pailan Arrows: I-League home matches across India?

I have been thinking about an idea for weeks, now I wanted to pen it down and maybe it is something for the All India Football Federation to consider which could help to spread awareness about Indian football, its future talent and the I-League.

The Pailan Arrows, the AIFF's Developmental Team, shifted their base last season from the National Capital Region to Kolkata after a sponsor was finally found in the Pailan Group and with the Pailan Group having suitable facilities for training and accommodation the whole set-up is now based in Joka, on the South West fringes of Kolkata.

With the shift to Kolkata the Pailan Arrows now play their home matches at the giant Saltlake Stadium, but mostly infront of empty stands with crowds only coming for their matches against Kolkata giants East Bengal and Mohun Bagan. Even Kolkata clubs like Tollygunge Agragami in the old NFL and currently Prayag United in the I-League face this problem due to the Kolkata fans being attached to the big three - East Bengal, Mohun Bagan and Mohammedan Sporting.

Even the Pailan Arrows, the future talent of Indian football is a hard sell in a football crazy city like Kolkata. But don't these boys, who we hope will go on to represent the senior Indian national team one day deserve better?

Maybe the AIFF needs to think out of the box on this issue. It is about exposure and experience for the Arrows and maybe they should play their home matches across India in football centres where there is no I-League action or cities which have the necessary stadiums. This way the team could also spread awareness about the I-League.

Maybe some people are reading this idea...

Rob Baan: Regional Academies will shape the future

Against the backdrop of the Under-22 India trials for the qualifiers of the 2013 AFC Under-22 Asian Cup being held in Pailan World School, Kolkata; two of the most significant technical personalities for football in India - AIFF Technical Director Rob Baan and Head Coach Youth Development Colm Joseph Toal came together to speak from the dais at a Media Interaction yesterday.

The duo are currently at Pailan World School to conduct and select 30 boys for the preparatory camp, which would be held prior to the qualifying phase which is scheduled from June 23. 68 boys, including those from the AIFF's Youth Development Team, Pailan Arrows, are attending the trials.

Baan thanked Pailan Group chairman Apurba Saha for his support and hospitality during the camp, a view which was endorsed by Toal. Saha, who was also present on the occasion added, "It's an honour for me that the U-22 National Trials are being held in Pailan and the Regional Academy would be coming up at our campus."

"The U-22 Asian Cup is an important tournament for us," Baan opined. "We have been clubbed in a tough group but it gives the boys an opportunity to play five quality games. We need to remember that not all among this bunch of boys get a chance to play competitive football in the I-League."

"With the right kind of physical conditioning, we will be competitive in the tournament," Baan stressed. India who have been drawn with Oman, Iraq, UAE, Lebanon and Turkmenistan in Group A, play Lebanon in their first match on June 23.

"The forthcoming Regional Academies which are being set-up are very significant," Baan maintained. "One needs to remember we won't deal with U-16 boys in the Academies; rather we are focusing on U-14 boys. They stay a step in the right direction and will shape the future. The I-League clubs need to follow the model."

Toal, who has been in charge of AIFF's Youth Development Programme for the last five years said, "Someone of Mr. Rob Baan's stature joining as the Technical Director is one of the most positive developments in Indian football. His experience will help us in the long run," Colm felt.

"Even at the moment when we are dealing with a specific set of boys, there's always a vacuum underneath. That’s where the clubs need to take more responsibilities," Colm maintained.

"Education for Coaches is imperative. They need to stay updated on a regular basis. Grooming tender kids is an entirely different proposition," Baan went on. "The sport needs to popularised in the schools. The facilities in the schools seem to be better than other places. Hence, we have engaged a lot of schools for our forthcoming Academies."

Baan insisted on focussing on the Grassroots. "It all needs to start form the Grassroots. Only then will the sport be popularised all over the country."

The two gentleman have a tough task on them to develop young Indian football talent.

India Under-22 trials kicked-off today at Pailan World School

The Indian Under-22 national team trials for the qualifiers of the AFC Under-22 Asian Cup kicked-off at the Pailan World School in Kolkata today. The trials would go on till Thursday, March 8. Out of the 68 boys called-up 62 attended the first day of trials with the others either with Team India or injured.

On the first day, the boys were divided into three teams and played matches of 30-minutes duration against each other with the AIFF Technical Director Rob Baan and Head Coach Youth Development Colm Joseph Toal, both of whom are at Pailan for selection, kept a close watch.

After the training matches Rob Baan said, "It was the first day of the trials and it was promising enough."

Besides Baan and Toal, the Pailan Arrows coaching staff of head coach Sujit Chakraborty, assistant coach Narayana Menon and goalkeeping coach Tanumoy Basu also supervising the trials.

Indian Club Football: Why only investors from Bengal?

The above is a question which needs to be asked. Over the Indian football summer break a number of clubs and entities have been on the lookout for new partners and sponsors, but only companies from Kolkata have come forward to spend Rs 50 to 80 Million (5 to 8 crores) per year.

Surely one has to criticize Chirag Computers style of their Viva Kerala takeover to name them Chirag United Club Kerala or in short CUCK, which is even worse. But on the other side why has Kerala's lone entrant in the top tier of the I-League not been able to find a local Kerala sponsor/backer or a Non-Resident Keralite with money? Then the fact is without Chirag Computers owner Kaustav Roy being on the lookout for an I-League club after his split with United SC the future of Viva Kerala looked seriously bleak.

Take Kolkata-based United SC. The I-League side split from Chirag Computers due to differences in ownership but after a few weeks found a new long-term partner in the Prayag Group of Industries, who have agreed to sponsor them for six years. This gives he United SC management planning security.

The third example of this summer are the Indian Arrows, the AIFF's developmental team. The team was based in Delhi last season and played in Gurgaon, but due to the high costs involved the AIFF where on the lookout for a sponsor and partner for the Arrows who could adopt the team. They hoped to either keep the team in Delhi or shift to Bangalore or Pune with a national or local sponsor. It didn't happen, then in the end the Pailan Group from Kolkata became the partners and the Arrows have now shifted to their world school campus in Joka.

There are other companies from Kolkata to have come forward to fund Calcutta Premier Division sides with budgets which would surely make some of the I-League sides envious.

But why aren't there any investments into Indian club football elsewhere? Especially from Mumbai and to some extend Bangalore I have been hearing for years now that there are investors waiting in the wings to launch new clubs, but nothing has ever happened.

The biggest disappointment remains for me Kerala. There is a state with huge interest in football, people follow the sport there like in Bengal, Goa and the Northeast; but there seems to be no local business which can support and sustain a local football team at the top level? That can't be.

Hopefully companies and individuals with the necessary deep pockets in other parts of India come forward to fund clubs or even found clubs to compete with the best in the country, otherwise soon it will be a Kolkata and Goa league with some Indian flavour in it...

Pailan Indian Arrows squad announced

The Pailan Indian Arrows will be an I-League side of old and new players after some of the teams key players from their inaugural season have left the AIFF's developmental side. Rising stars in Jeje Lalpekhlua, Raju Gaikwad and Jewel Raja had to return to their clubs after a one year loan period after the clubs were not willing to release them for another year.

This development was not to the liking of the new AIFF partners and sponsors of the Indian Arrows, the Pailan Group. They expected the Jeje's and Raju's to be part of the Arrows in the new season. The AIFF General Secretary Kushal Das had to fly across to Kolkata to sort out pending issues with especially the topics of players being discussed.

Now a new look Arrows will start their second season of existence at a new home in Joka, on the fringes of Kolkata. The big signing for the Arrows is that of India Under-23 striker C.S. Sabeeth from Viva Kerala. Further a number of players from the now defunct JCT have been signed, while also some boys have moved up from the India under-19 squad.

There is also talk that former India coach Sukhvinder Singh could be brought in as Technical Director of the Indian Arrows to strengthen the staff within the Arrows system. Sukhvinder has been a key element at JCT and their Academy, who has brought up numerous players at the club over the years.


PAILAN INDIAN ARROWS

Goalkeepers
Naveen Kumar (JCT), Ravi Kumar, Kamaljeet Singh

Defenders
Avinaba Bag (Kalighat Milan Sangha, Kolkata), Deepak Devrani, Gurtej Singh Sr (JCT), Prathamesh Maulingkar, Amarwant Singh (JCT), Lalrozama Fanai, Souvik Ghosh, Vishal Kumar, Rajib Ghosh (East Bengal Club), Narayan Das (new)

Midfielders
Bijendra Singh (Royal Wahingdoh SC), Khangebam Jibon Singh, Tirthankar Sarkar, Bikramjit Singh, Shilton Sydney D'Silva, Shenaz Singh (new), Probit Das (new), Krishanu Banerjee (new), Lalnunka (new)

Forwards
Ajay Singh (JCT), Gurtej Singh Jr (JCT), Malsawmfela, C.S Sabeeth (Viva Kerala), Lalnunpuia (new), Holicharan Narzary (new)

Officials
Desmond Bulpin (Chief Coach), Tanumoy Bose (Assistant Coach)

Pailan Group officially adopt Indian Arrows

Yesterday the official signing was done under which the Indian Arrows, the junior development national side of the All India Football Federation, will now become part of the Pailan World Group for the next five years and will be known as the Pailan Indian Arrows. The official signing took place at Pailan World Group Complex on Sunday afternoon.

The official agreement was signed by the AIFF president Praful Patel and Pailan Group chairman Apurba Saha at the Pailan Headquarters in Kolkata.

"We look forward to the deal taking Indian football to greater heights," Mr. Patel said. "This is the developmental team of AIFF. We have a long way to go to regain lost glory," Mr. Patel added.

As per the deal the Indian Arrows will shift base from the National Capital Region to Kolkata and will be training in the residential complex of Pailan World School in Joka.

"I've been impressed with the residential wing, the kitchen, the swimming pool and the gymnasium and the training grounds," Praful Patel added.

In the evening the Indian Arrows at their new home played a 50 minute friendly game against the Santosh Trophy winning squad of West Bengal, who beat the now rechristened Pailan Indian Arrows 1-0 through a goal from Francis Xavier.

Talking about the issue of release player for the Arrows from their parent clubs for another year Praful Patel did stress that he would be speaking to the clubs about the same. "The developmental attitude of the clubs will go a long way in helping the sport. Everyone has to put their best foot forward for the betterment of Indian football. I'd request the clubs to release the players for one more year."

But the concerned clubs in East Bengal, Mohun Bagan, Pune FC and Churchill Brothers aren't happy that such an approach to them was made by the AIFF president through the media rather then speaking to them first.