Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikary has said his government was considering greater support for Indian football, and would look to draw inspiration from Odisha’s model of developing hockey.
“Our Governor, RN Ravi, and the MoS (Union Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs) have said that the Odisha government is (financially) supporting hockey, and that we should think of doing so in football. Football means Kolkata, and vice versa,” Adhikari told reporters after watching India’s high-profile friendly match against Brazil at Kolkata’s Salt Lake stadium on Saturday.
Adhikari, however, said that any decision on the support will need the Cabinet’s approval. “If the West Bengal government can support Indian football, this cannot be my own decision. This has to be everyone’s decision,” he added.
Odisha became the official team partner for India’s men’s and women’s hockey team in 2018 and has built a state-backed hockey ecosystem through infrastructure, corporate partnerships and grassroots development.
Both Indian teams recently won gold at the ongoing Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, while the men’s side has clinched two Olympic bronze medals since the partnership.
“If any state does good work, we will watch and learn from them. Regarding hockey, the Odisha government did an extraordinary job. We can follow the model for football,” Adhikari said.