New Delhi: The country’s first state of the art football academy might be set up in Calcutta, where, 80 boys of different age groups will be imparted training for two to six years.

According to All India Football Federation (AIFF) sources, the elite soccer school could come up by the end of 2012 in collaboration with France-based JMG Academy, whose officials were recently in the capital for a detailed presentation of their proposal.

“Though the federation officials are hugely impressed by JMG’s approach, money could be the only hitch in setting up the academy,” said a source.

The French company has made it clear that the running cost of the academy will swagger between one to two million dollars per year and AIFF bosses are now discussing the issue with their marketing and broadcasting agents to raise the capital.

According to sources, the academy may be developed at the Pailan complex, where the AIFF backed Indian Arrows team is going to be based for the next five years. “The proposal said they needed six grounds, two of them fitted with artificial turf, to start functioning. In that case, Pailan can be the appropriate place for the academy,” the official said.

What really took the AIFF by surprise is that unlike former national coach Bob Houghton, JMG said its focus will not be only on physical strength and height of the youngsters. Instead, the academy will concentrate on developing the skills and speed of the boys that would help them to mature into better footballers. It has even proposed part barefoot training for the training till the age of 16.

Established by former French international Jean-Marc Guillou, JMG has established nine academies across the world including in two Asian countries — Thailand and Vietnam. The organisation, however, has earned its name after producing host of leading players in Ghana and Ivory Coast.

Apropos of the proposal tabled by the French company, 20 players each will be taken into four age groups — 11-13 years, 14-15 years, 16-17 years and 18-19 years. The boys will be given training for two to six years. It also has come up with a special ‘coach the coaches’ programme for India.

The AIFF has also received a proposal from the Netherlands’ Orange Sports Forum (OSF) on sharing of technical expertise. The federation, however, found the Dutch firm too costly, as it has reportedly demanded a big sum for preparing the initial project report.