Indian kids to train with a La Liga club every year

La Liga, in association with the Embassy of Spain in India and India On Track, will be awarding multiple Indian students the La Liga Football Schools Scholarship annually from 2018/19 season onwards.

The students will be selected from La Liga's grassroots development programme in India, La Liga Football Schools and will be sent to Spain for up to a fortnight to receive training at a selected La Liga club academy.

These students will be selected through a scouting process conducted every year around Diwali, where 32 players will be shortlisted. The final phase of the selection will be held the following January in a metro city location.

The selected students will travel to Spain for an immersive football experience in May and receive training from the best of one of La Liga's club' academies, sharing the training ground with some of Spain's best youth players.

The students will be selected based on their performance on the following criteria: technical skill, demonstrated history of progression and strong performance in La Liga Football Schools, exemplary behaviour, attitude and strong sporting values like commitment, effort, team spirit, respect, team work and humbleness.

Jose Antonio Cachaza, managing director, La Liga India said: "Our aim, at La Liga, is to make a genuine and tangible impact on the lives of aspiring youth in India. We launched the first of its kind initiative to nurture the football environment in India keeping this in mind and have undertaken several other projects to actualise our dreams."

"The young students who will get the chance to visit Spain for a football immersion annually will come back here with a fresh perspective, set of skills and motivation and subsequently inspire more children to pursue their dreams. In turn, the young Spanish players will learn a little bit about the Indian culture and its people," he added.

La Liga Football Schools is a grassroots development initiative by Spain's premier division league, La Liga in association with India On Track to provide comprehensive training to Indian students and coaches across the country.

Launched in 2018, the programme has benefited more than 12,000 Indian students in 40 centres across 14 cities.

--IANS

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