Former Indian India national football team captains Baichung Bhutia and Renedy Singh along with WSSA officials and management of Atoqa Tea factory Nikhekhu on January 27. (Photo Courtesy: WSSA)
Dimapur, January 28 (MExN): With the objective of grass root development of sports especially football, in Western Sumi areas in particular and Nagas in general, Baichung Bhutia and Renedy Singh, both Indian India national football team captains, have agreed to become the Advisors of Western Sumi Sports Association (WSSA).
As per a WSSA release, the association officials under leadership of President Vikuto Zhimo interacted with Bhutia and Singh during a visit to Atoqa Tea Producer Company Ltd, a registered farmer producer organisation (FPO in Nikhekhu on January 27, where both gave the commitment.
As requested by the WSSA, both agreed to do their roles and further advised the officials to focus on Under-14 category team, which can move up the ladder to reach National and International level, it said.
Both Bhutia and Singh assured support to identify talents for trials in Indian football clubs, it added.
It further informed that Bhutia also agreed to conduct basic short programme and train coaches under the association and guide players in cluster in targeted villages, preferably those under WSSA with some past experience.
He further told the WSSA officials that his club Sikkim United would play with WSSA 11 team very soon to encourage and motivate the grass root Naga players under Niuland, Dimapur and Chümoukedima district.
The Atoqa tea factory management as part of their corporate social responsibility would be facilitating the events and encouraging sports especially to talented children in the region, it added, the release added.
Indian football legend Bhutia, a Padmashree as well as an Arjuna awardee, is the brand ambassador of the Northeast Brews and its product Nagaland Premium Gold Tea packaged in the factory, while Singh is currently the interim coach of East Bengal Football Club.
Meanwhile, the release further informed that the WSSA, as a part of its week-long sports events from January 24-29, conducted an educational visit to Atoqa tea factory on January 27.
It was part of various educative activities being planned for the teams by the association, it said.
The participating teams comprising of 11 areas under Western Sumi Region comprising of 179 villages visited the complex.
The Ato Area Sports Association and Nikhekhu Village Council hosted and orgnised the visit in in collaboration with Atoqa tea factory management.
During the same, Tokato Yepthomi incharge of ground operations lauded the WSSA official and the teams for the educational tour.
He also stressed that for growth of any society, besides being educated and well-aware, networking, acceptance and learning from each other with humility were the key ingredients.
Simon Phillips Jyrwa, the commercial manager of the factory with past experience in Mac Leod
Russel tea company, Assam, also highlighted on various stages of tea making process, which needed high level of professional skills and application,
He also informed that the factory was currently in short of fresh tea leaves and encouraged entrepreneurs to take up tea plantations, as the factory was an assured market of the raw materials, the release said.
Presently 600 acres of plantation covering 11 villages with 160 small tea growers are carrying out plantations in the tea belt but it is still not adequate to feed the 5 lakh CTC made tea capacity license issued by Tea Board of India to Atoqa tea factory, he said.
The main focus of the factory management was self sustainable economy in the region and improve quality of life of the underprivileged, Jyrwa added.
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