History
Mohun Bagan collaborated with Steel Authority of India Ltd. (SAIL) to establish a residential academy for youth development in 2002. On 20 July 2002 Mohun Bagan SAIL Football Academy was set up in Durgapur, and the primary objective of the academy was "Spot and Groom the Youth", with the best of training using modern techniques, tactics, physical and psychological conditioning, and related inputs, so that in near future, India could see them in the national platform.
In 2007 the club had appointed a famous Brazilian football expert Prof. Luiz Greco, as the Technical Director of the youth teams of Mohun Bagan SAIL Football Academy. [2]
The academy teams won various trophies across the country. The academy's greatest feat was achieved in 2006 when the club's U14 team qualified for the Final Round of Nike Premier Cup (Under-14), a worldwide club tournament hosted by Manchester United, by beating East Bengal in the National Qualifier and Singapore Sports School in the final of South-East Asia Qualifier. Till then no Indian team had ever participated at the premier level since independence. [3] The team faced some of the top clubs like Manchester United, São Paulo, Athletic Bilbao and Ferencvárosi in the group stage and, Brussels and Universidad Católica in the 17-20th place play-offs semi-finals and 19th place play-off final respectively. Unfortunately the team didn't win any match and ranked 20th in the tournament among the 20 qualified teams over the world. [4]
From 2015 to 2018 the U-19 team participated in the prestigious IFA Shield, which was organised as an U-19 tournament due to the busy schedules of the clubs' senior teams. Mohun Bagan was the runners-up for two consecutive seasons, 2017 and 2018. [5] [6]
In 2017 the U-15 team defeated ATK by a record 13–0 scoreline in the opening match of AIFF U15 Youth League. [7]
In 2019 the U-19 team also participated in a regional franchise-based Talent Hunt league called Zee Bangla Football League that featured the top 4 clubs of West Bengal (Mohun Bagan, East Bengal, Mohammedan and Aryan) along with 16 franchise teams representing various districts of the state. [8] The organisers declared both Mohun Bagan and East Bengal as the winners after the final match was abandoned due to fan unrest. [9]
After the ownership changes of the footballing section of Mohun Bagan, the youth academy, although merged with ATK Reserves And Academy, was disbanded for the next two seasons. [10] [11]
In June 2022, fresh trials were conducted under senior team head coach Juan Ferrando to set up new under-13, under-15 and under-18 teams, and UEFA Pro License holder Spanish coach Josep Maria Roma Gilbert was appointed from Al Hilal to take charge of the U-21 team. [12] [13] In the 2022–23 U-17 Youth Cup, the team failed to qualify for the knockout stages. The reserve team of Mohun Bagan participated in the Reliance Foundation Development League for the first time. This competition is predominantly for the under-21 age group, with five under-23 players allowed in the squad and three in the playing XI. [14] They successfully secured a third place and qualified for Next Gen Cup where they ranked 6th. The reserve side also participated in the CFL Premier Division under the senior team's assistant coach Bastob Roy who replaced Gilbert from the new season.
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