With an eye on 2017 FIFA Under-17 World Cup in India, Atletico de Kolkata today announced their association with the Nursery League Football through which they will scout for talents in the region.
The Sourav Ganguly co-owned Kolkata franchise of the Indian Super League will appoint six 'spotters' (coaches) to hunt for about 250 kids from the U-12 and U-14 Nursery League which will be played among 82 teams in 12 venues over a period of 10 weeks beginning March 23.
"Ultimately, we will prune the lot to 20 who would be sent for the ISL grassroots development programme under technical director Piet Hubers," an ATK management committee member said at the announcement programme here.
The inaugural ISL champions believe their mission would be successful if at least three to four players from the programme make the cut for the 2017 World Cup.
The ATK's association with the West Bengal football body (IFA) will also revive the Nursery League which will be played in two categories in the age groups of U-12 and U-14.
"We will have various awards -- like Fair Play, Man of the Match and Golden Boot -- to make the tournament more attractive," the official said.
Group A (U-14) will consist of 35 clubs while there will be 47 in Group B (U-12) and the tournament will run till May last week as more than 2,000 will compete in about 450 matches.
"This will be one of the biggest tournaments in India and will help in our endeavour to promote football and bring back the glory in the state," ATK co-owner Utsav Parekh said.
ATK also has planned for a football academy in the state.
