Newly elected IFA president chalks out plans for IFA's future

Kolkata, May 11 (UNI) Exide chief Satya Brata Ganguly, the newly elected Indian Football Association of Bengal, today chalked out fresh plans for promoting the game in the state.

Former IFA president Subrata Dutta, the Honourary Secretary for the Association, while introducing Mr Ganguly, said, ''We are proud to announce that he has accepted to become the IFA president. We are sure that with the cooperation of the media and the football community, we will able to make headway in promotion of soccer in the state.

''Football is a game that is very popular among the Bengalis and yet the media has not given sufficient coverage to the game,'' Mr Ganguly lamented. However, he hoped that he would be able to do justice to the game.

''We need to bring in international teams and expose our young talents to the high standard of the game worldwide and heighten their spirits. This will in future boost the popularity of the game and automatically media coverage will increase,'' Mr Ganguly replied when asked about his plans for promoting of the game in the state.

He also spoke at length on the improvement of the galleries and other instructure related to the game in West Bengal, especially in Kolkata, so that more and more people can enjoy the game.

Speaking on the absence of any IFA-owned football ground, the Exide chief said he was aware of the fact and assured Mr Dutta would look into the causes for not having one so long.

Asked about the plans of partnering any private channels, the former IFA president said that tenders had been floated and the name of the company selected would be released on May 16.

Responding to a query on the future of Bengal Football in respect with Super Soccer, Mr Dutta said, ''We want to give life to the plans of late Aditya Kashyap who wanted to reintroduce Super Soccer.'' UNI