SESA Football Lays Out Strategic Roadmap To Bet Big On Future

SESA Football Academy won GFA 1st division league to qualify for Goa Pro League 2019-20. 

After earning a promotion to the Goa Football Association (GFA) Goa Professional League by winning the first division league, the Sesa Football Academy (SFA) is betting big on future and laying out a robust foundational roadmap for the upcoming season.   

Commemorating the first division league win and the successful conclusion of the SFA Baby League, SFA organized an “Annual Felicitation Ceremony” at Panjim in which the SFA team players were felicitated by the Honorable Chief Guest, Dr. Pramod Sawant, Chief Minister, Goa, Mr. Annanya Agarwal, President SFA, Mr. Sauvick Mazumdar, Deputy CEO, Vedanta Sesa Goa Iron Ore and its senior management.

“I would at the outset congratulate Sesa Football Academy for achieving promotion to the Goa Pro League. I feel proud that one campus of Sesa Football Academy is located in my constituency and even though mining has stopped for more than a year they have not allowed Football to stop  I would also like to thank Mr. Annanya Agarwal for promoting the sport in the State by giving opportunities to players from every nook and corner of the state to play football. I would like to assure everyone that mining would definitely resume in the state with in a short space of time”, said, Dr. Pramod Sawant, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Goa.

"As a passionate football follower, I am excited to see the vision of Vedanta Football taking off in such an impactful way. This qualification to the Pro-League is a step forward towards our overall vision of development of the beautiful game from the grassroots level and producing quality talent in India”, commented Annanya Agarwal, President of the SFA. 

“I am proud of the boys and also thankful to the entire support system who have worked very hard over the last two years to get us in this position. We as a group are committed to cater to their requirements and enable them to perform at the highest level", he further added.

To prepare for the upcoming season and compete at a higher level, the academy is looking at upgrading some of the facilities & infrastructure and reinforcing its technical capabilities. SFA is also looking at collaborating with some of the other Vedanta Group Companies who run football initiative in South Africa, Zambia and Namibia.

“Our management has shown great commitment towards promoting Football in the toughest time of our industry. With active support from Govt of Goa, we expect to come out of this mining impasse soon and contribute more towards benefitting the society and taking SFA, Goan and National football to greater heights” said, Mr. Sauvick Mazumdar. “We continue to invest further to ensure that we have a promising result in the upcoming Goa Pro-League”, he further added. 

Building on the legacy of the academy, SFA re-launched the initiative precisely two years back in 2017 with a vision to intensify efforts on youth development. The academy also roped in Spanish coach Eduard 'Xuxu' Batlle Basart (UEFA Pro Licensed) as Technical Director to emphasize on systematic and scientific training for young talent at the residential campus. He has established a philosophy that focuses upon teamwork, ball possession and playing attacking football that is pleasing to the eye.

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An initiative of Sesa Goa Iron Ore (Part of the Vedanta Group), SESA Football Academy is one of the first residential academies in India. Established in 1999, with currently two running campuses, the academy has the unique distinction of developing the highest number of players for the national team, the ISL teams, the I-League teams and the Goa Pro League from the state of Goa. 

The initiative also runs a community outreach program through the Vedanta Football Schools taking technical capabilities to the players and coaches of our communities in Goa. Vedanta lays particular emphasis on women’s football and launched Vedanta Women's League in 2017, providing the much-needed opportunity for the women football players of Goa to showcase their talent and create a pathway into the national and international platforms.