Dubai: In a country replete with top-class soccer schools and academies run by the world’s best clubs, the news of another one coming up shouldn’t ideally raise many eyebrows. Arsenal, the two Manchester Clubs, Real Madrid and Spanish Soccer Schools all have their home in the Emirate catering mostly to mainland European and British style of football.
But come this weekend, Everest Sports, headed by former UAE World Cup cricketer and chief coach Shahzad Altaf, will turn their attention to football and begin their new football academy aimed at expat kids from the Indian sub-continent. As a major initiative towards getting the academy underway, Everest Sports have teamed up with former Indian footballer and coach Gautam Sarkar to organise a youth football clinic from April 18 to May 1. This interactive camp is designed to educate, encourage and empower young aspiring footballers between the ages seven to 15 while teaching them the proper skills and techniques.
Sarkar, nicknamed Indian Beckenbauer, hails from West Bengal, the land of football in India and is a former international player having also captained two of India’s biggest clubs, East Bengal and Mohun Bagan. He was famously assigned to mark Pele during New York Cosmos’ 2-2 draw against Mohun Bagan in 1977. He also represented India in various national and international tournaments including Asian Games and Merdeka Cup and in places like the UAE, Bharain, Iran and various other South-East Asian countries. And he still remembers his visit to the UAE way back in 1979.
“We were on a friendship tour to the Middle East and played the UAE national team at the just-opened Sharjah Cricket Stadium and we managed to beat them,” recalled Sarkar.
So, what made him take up this offer?
“I have a coaching experience of more than 23 years and am a certified coach from FIFA, IOC (International Olympic Committee) and AFC (Asian Football Confederation). At present I am the chief technical director of West Bengal State Football Academy in Kolkata. The last-named project is about to take off after the elections, so when I got this offer to go to Dubai in the meantime, I decided to take it up. I love training kids, so it should be a lot of fun,” he said.
Incidentally, Sarkar was the first coach of the one of the biggest names in Indian football Bhaichung Bhutia. “That was in 1991 when I was the coach of the Indian team for the Asian Youth Soccer in Dhaka. He was actually too young to play but was part of the team anyway,” he said.
Sarkar will be conducting clinics at DPS Dubai, Jebel Ali, Cover Drive Sports Academy, Pakistan Association, Dubai, India Club and Skyline University, Sharjah. “It is very important to teach kids the right technique from a very early age and I am really excited at this fun opportunity,” he said.
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Contact info
For registration contact Ehtesham at 055 205 8661, Ali at 055 558 3283 or Abhishek at 055 775 4840 or email: everstsports@gmail.com or cdrive@eim.ae
