SAIL Football Academy cadets at a practice session in Bokaro on Thursday. Picture by Pankaj Singh

Bokaro, Oct. 22: Ninety per cent marks in an exam may not guarantee a seat in this school, but a height of 5.7ft coupled with fabulous footwork can.

Welcome to SAIL Football Academy (SFA), Bokaro, that has churned out many a rising soccer star. The dream project of Arjun awardee and internationally acclaimed goalkeeper Peter Thangaraj and founded by SAIL in 1998, the football “nursery” trains youths from poor and middle class families. And its alumni are now playing for top clubs of the country such as Mohan Bagan, Chirag United, Mohammedan Sporting, Air India, Tollygunj, Dempo, Indian Army and BSF.

Having an annual budget of only Rs 28 lakh allotted under SAIL’s corporate social responsibility programme, SFA picks 40 cadets in the age group of 14-16 every year.

The youngsters are not only coached by international players and trainers from National Institute of Sports, Patiala, they also get a chance to study at state-run schools.

The aspirants are housed at trainee hostels and are provided free meals thrice a day. This is not all. The academy also offers them a Rs 500 stipend every month and an insurance coverage of Rs 2 lakh.

“The cadets are trained for three years. The best of the lot is then sent to IISCO, Burnpur, for another two-year training. We are very strict about the admission criteria and do not admit anyone who does not fit the bill,” said deputy general manager, sports, U.K. Sharan.

Sports officer V. Vishu added: “Nationally acclaimed soccer stars from Calcutta like Pradip Chowdhary, Tarun Bose and Arup Das judge the youngsters during selection trial. The process is transparent.”

“If the selection committee is not satisfied, we leave the seats empty and fresh batches are invited to join the camp,” Sharan added.

No wonder that the SFA has won the Subroto Cup four times. It has also remained the reigning champion in the state since 2001. Not to forget that the players churned out by the academy are now earning in lakhs.

One of the many stars, H.L. Malsoma, is currently playing for Chirag United for an annual package of Rs 18 lakh. Lalkamal Bhowmik is with Mohan Bagan, which is offering him a Rs 12 lakh package; Snehashish Chakraborty has also been roped in by Chirag United for Rs 12 lakh. Arup Devnath plays for East Bengal for an annual draw of Rs 8 lakh.