Sudeep Pakrashi:
Following utmost carelessness from the organisers of Reliance Foundation Youth Sports (RFYS), a debutant football academy from Jangalmahal, Purulia, has been forced to withdraw in the middle of the ongoing RFYS youth league across West Bengal.
It is Manbazar Vibekananda Sports Academy, which has been running for the last five years at Bandowan, Purulia district. The academy returned to Bari village, Manbajar travelling for almost 7-8 hours after taking part in their last group league match on 7th January.
The academy president, Prashanta Mahato, when asked about the issue, explained, “I received a WhatsApp message from the organisers on 7th late night and then around 11 in the morning on the 8th January afternoon, despite the fact that these boys had travelled almost eight hours by bus and returned home at around 11 in the night on the day before! So, how could it be possible? I requested them to spare at least a day for us. In reply, they asked me to give a walkover in our first group league match on 9th January!”
More importantly, the academy had already spent nearly Rs 1 lakh to participate in their last round matches. According to Mahato, it would not have been easy to accommodate the hotels for around 25 boys within 24 hours.
RFYS people were not available for their reaction.
Signioficantly, Vibekananda Sports Academy had an excellent performance in their outing in the last group league matches. In their seven matches, the academy won in five, drew in one, and lost in one each.
