Dr English with the girls of Akhand Jyoti Football Academy in Mastichak. Telegraph picture

Patna, Oct. 11: Keen to boost the skills of the cadets of Akhand Jyoti Football Academy (AJFA), the Chelsea Football Club has invited their coach Sarita Jayanti Behra to England in November to attend a workshop for soccer coaches.

Dr Bryan English, the honorary medical officer of Chelsea FC, extended this invitation during his recent visit to AJFA at Mastichak, around 60km north-west of the capital. He went there to see the facilities being provided to the girl footballers by the academy.

The duration of the workshop for the coaches would be around 15 days. The participants would be apprised of the latest techniques of coaching, technical knowledge of the game and the requirements of international standard of football.

Chelsea would bear the expenses of the coach of AJFA for attending the workshop.

Sarita, who represented India in 2004, told The Telegraph: “It is a great opportunity for me. I will use this workshop to learn the latest techniques of the game so that the girls at our academy could be trained in accordance with the requirements of the international standards of the game.”

She said despite having played for India she had never thought of getting an opportunity to share time with international experts to learn the latest nuances of the game.

If the coach is happy about the opportunity of honing her coaching skills, her disciples are excited about the gifts Dr Bryan brought for them from Britain. He gave winter jerseys to the cadets and the coach of the AJFA. Sarita got the jersey of Didier Y. Drogba, the Chelsea striker.

Gunja Kumari, a trainee at AJFA, said: “I had never thought of wearing a Chelsea jersey. I feel honoured and would try to do justice to the jersey by improving the standard of my game.”

The Chelsea doctor also gifted some balls used in the Champions League matches to the academy that offers free soccer training to rural girls.

Praising Chelsea for showing interest in promoting football among rural girl footballers of Bihar, AJFA administrator Mukesh Tiwary said Dr English was very impressed with the initiatives taken by AJFA to give an opportunity to rural girls to make a career in football while pursuing their studies during their stay here.

Those managing the Akhand Jyoti Eye Hospital have set up AJFA. At present, 18 girls are enrolled with the academy. Fifteen more would be taken into the academy.