(From Right-Left) Jungshi Jamir and Suya Temjen Longkumer co-founders of 343 at the press conference Half-Nagarjan, Dimapur on December 14. (Morung Photo)
Morung Express News
Dimapur | December 14
India Khelo Football (IKF) in collaboration with ‘343’ (formerly Nagaland Futsal League) will be conducting their first ever football trials for Nagaland in Kohima and Dimapur between December 16-17 at Indira Gandhi (IG) stadium and Greenwood Higher secondary school respectively. This was announced at a press conference held here at Half-Nagarjan, Dimapur on December 14.
According to Jongshi Jamir, co founder of ‘343’ the trials were aimed at promoting and harvesting young talents at the grass roots through careful selection of players with the help of Professional Football Scout Association (PFSA) certified scouting agents. The trials will be held for under-15 and under-17 players at the designated venues. Online or on the spot registration will be available for those interested candidates. He noted that the state was specifically chosen as Nagaland has highly skilled and spirited players and spectators who love the game and follow it religiously.
He also clarified that as this was the first football trail to be held in the state, the organisers had specially chosen the two locations based on viability and ease of transport. “But we are planning to expand the trials to other districts in the next seasons if the response is good,” he said.
Hitesh Joshi, co-founder of IKF who was also present through video-conferencing, explained that they were a non-profit organisation who seeks to up skill, train and scout the best Indian talents. Started in the year 2020, their operation consists of conducting physical trails in cities as well as in villages. The selected players are then invited for level-2 trails at Delhi where clubs from Indian Super League (ISL), I-League and international scouts get to handpick the promising players for further training. “So we have been this since 2020 across 17 cities and close to 3000 kids participated in it,” he said. Furthermore, the whole assessment will be video-graphed for further scrutiny.
The entire initiative is being supported by organisations such as ProSoccer Global, PalamósCF, Perfect Football, Professional Football Scouts Association, and SportsMate 360.
