In a bid to promote football further in the state, Manipur will sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the All-India Football Federation (AIFF) for logistics and other support to set up a football academy.
Announcing this during the inauguration ceremony of the historic Hero Tri-Nation International Football Tournament at the Khuman Lampak stadium on Wednesday, Chief Minister N Biren Singh said, “It is indeed very fortunate for Manipur to host the Tri-Nation International Tournament and also a moment of pride that the national team consists of five to six players from the state.”
“We’ll be signing the MoU during AIFF chief Kaylan Chaubey’s visit on the closing match of the tournament on February 28,” the chief minister further said.
Biren Singh also appreciated the AIFF chief and his team for acknowledging the potential of Manipuri players and the State’s love of football.
He also appealed to the people to attend the matches and to show discipline and decency during the tournament.
Manipur had emerged as the football factory of India as it contributed about 43 players in The Indian Super League-men’s professional top tier football league in the Indian football league system shows the dominance of the state in the discipline of football.
Though the state had hosted several tournaments in the past, including Durand Cup, this is the first time the football-crazy state hosted the international tournament.
The Main Stadium of the sports complex looked full with official attendance recorded to be 29,341 at the opening function followed by a match won by India by 1-0 goal against Myanmar.
