Cadets practise at SFA in Bokaro. (Pankaj Singh)

Bokaro, May 24: Only two cadets from Jharkhand could make it to SAIL Football Academy (SFA) this year, while half of the 20 boys selected for the Bokaro-based soccer cradle were from Bengal.

Around 70 players from 22 states participated in the three-day trial session. Of the 20 shortlisted cadets, 10 are from Bengal, two each from Kerala, Maharashtra and Jharkhand and the rest are from Manipur, Mizoram, Delhi and Madhya Pradesh.

The SFA announced the names of the cadets on May 22. They include Swastik Mukherji, Saintan Pain, Abhishek Saha, Tanmaya Mallick, Prantik Roy, Diganat Khadda, Devjit Kaet, Manril Mistri, Satu Mukherji, Prasenjit Paul, C.K Saumb, Mohammad M Syed Shoaib Ahmed, M.M. Dawanglian, A.Akhtar G.Gagrai, Hitesh Bisht, Mukut Khasm Prasenjit and Mubarak Husaain.

The players have been asked to report at the camp by Wednesday. They will be trained under nationally acclaimed soccer players Arup Das, Tarun Bose, S. K. Ottawani and Chinmaya Chatterji.

These boys, aged between 14 and 16 years, have been selected for the three-year training camp in Bokaro, said sports manager of Bokaro steel plant V. Vishu, who was also an observer of the trial camp, which concluded at Mohan Kumar Mangalam Stadium on May 21.

The cadets would be offered free food and lodging. They would also get a stipend for next three years.

The dream project of Arjun awardee and internationally acclaimed goalkeeper Peter Thangaraj, the football nursery trains youths from poor and middle class families. SFA alumni are now playing for the best soccer clubs in the country including Mohun Bagan, East Bengal, Chirag Club and others, said Vishu.