The elite Tata Football Academy (TFA), one of the premium football academies of India, turned 35 on Monday as it continues to prepare quality footballers for the country.

A new chapter began in the history of Indian football when TFA was established on January 17, 1987, by Russi Mody, the then chairman & managing director of Tata Steel, in Jamshedpur. The cradle was his brainchild.

All-time soccer stars, including Olympians like Sailen Manna, Sheoo Mewalal, Runu Guha Thakurta, Pradip Kumar Banerjee, MS Mani and Chuni Goswami (advisor, sports and games, Tata Steel) were present at the occasion. Twenty cadets were selected for the first batch with international star, Mohammed Habib, as the chief coach.

While addressing the inaugural gathering, Russi Mody had said that the aim of Tatas in establishing the academy was not to create a Tata team or even to build a good team but to provide India with a solid base on which football could be built in the next five years.

The objective of the academy is to select, nurture and prepare budding footballers from across the country in the most scientific way, he had said.

A total of 252 cadets have graduated till date from the academy, with 150 cadets having represented the country (i.e. over 60%). 24 cadets have gone on to lead the national team in various age group competitions. In the current Indian Super League (ISL) season, 21 ex-cadets are playing for different clubs. Deepak Mandal and Subrata Paul, two of the alumnus, have been conferred with Arjuna Award.

TFA was upgraded to a four-star accreditation rating by The All India Football Federation (AIFF), making it the first institution by AIFF to be given such honour. The academy was also placed in the "The Hall of Fame – Youth Development Award” for its contribution to Indian football by Global Soccer Conclave in its virtual event

The academy, now the youth arm of Jamshedpur FC, is taking serious steps to develop the football ecosystem in Jharkhand through a grassroots programme launched in 2018.

Besides football festivals for kids under the age groups of 5 to 12, workshops for the coaches, which is an open session for anyone above the age of 18, is also part of the grassroots programme,

The primary focus of the club is to educate and develop grassroots coaches so that the children can identify their true potential and graduate to the senior team (read JFC) which participates in the cash-rich Indian Super League.