New Delhi: JLU, Bhopal has made an announcement to launch an ‘Elite Athlete Development Programme’ on February 25, 2022. This programme will support the football ecosystem in Madhya Pradesh, and Central India in general.

The main objective of this football talent development programme of JLU is to enable talented football players, clubs & schools to optimise their potential. It will also work for the improvement of the structures, make sustainable and long-term scouting schemes and, eventually, reduce the gap at the top of the game. 

Central India has made giant strides in various sports with athletics, hockey, cricket, adventure sports leading excellence and producing both national and international level athletes. 

JLU, realising the passion and potential of football in the Central region, has embarked through its ‘Elite Athlete Development Programme’, to support the football ecosystem in Central India in general and the state in particular.

There is no football senior team club in Madhya Pradesh, which is part of ISL or I-League and JLU has kickstarted this initiative by becoming the principal sponsor of Rajasthan United Football Club. 

The university is their home turf and is currently training there before they embark on their I-League campaign in March 2022 in Kolkata. The team list has some really exciting national and international players.

JLU has identified five areas that need to be addressed to build a strong football ecosystem in Central India : 

  • Sports Business Management and environment education
  • Development of home-grown coach-educators through regional coach-educator courses
  • Training of students and professionals on skills, opportunities and nutrition
  • Development of technical directors through courses and workshops
  • Data and information on the market, the various ecosystem stakeholders and their performance

The initiative and sponsorship of RUFC (Rajasthan United Football Club) will see local players, students, professionals and parents gain access to JLU’s coach and player development programmes, which also includes the RUFC Club's curriculum, resource library and the Coach Education webinar series.

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While addressing the Media, Abhishek Mohan Gupta, Pro-chancellor, JLU, said “Our endeavour is to encourage & promote football in central India and to also trigger this passion and purpose, we decided to bring RUFC to Madhya Pradesh. We are launching this Elite Athlete Development Programme to ensure that every footballer gets a chance. This goal is very ambitious but we are highly motivated and focused."

The initiatives will inspire and provide an ideal platform for boys and girls from the state, and in Central India in general to progress to professional football, and also the national teams. 

Developing talent is based on three key things: finding the talent, creating an environment for the footballers to flourish and, most importantly, coaching, he further added.

Francesc Bonet Caruncho, the Spanish coach of RUFC, said, “We need more youth competitions to identify talent, develop coaching & offer them a pathway. We are quite excited to be part of this initiative and have thoroughly enjoyed the outstanding football facilities as well as the environment at Jagran Lakecity University." 

JLU will be hosting the 4th annual JLU Football Leagues later this year, which is one of the biggest private universities' football leagues. Over the previous years, this league has become a platform for young footballers to showcase their skills. 

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