Sikkim Chief Minister discusses augmentation of football in country with AIFF president

Sikkim Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang on January 13 said he discussed the augmentation of football in the country with All India Football Federation (AIFF), Kalyan Choubey.     

The discussions between the Chief Minister and Choubey were held while the duo was traveling to attend the inaugural ceremony of the FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup 2023 at Rourkela. 

"Delighted meet the President of the All India Football Federation (AIFF),  Kalyan Choubey while traveling to attend the Inaugural Ceremony of the FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup 2023 at Rourkela," said Tamang wrote on his social media personal handle.

"We had profound discussions regarding the augmentation of football in the country and I informed him about the initiation of the Sikkim Premier League to promote football in the state and provide a platform for aspiring players,'' he added.

The Sikkim CM further thanked the AIFF President and the federation for the proposal to develop a Centre of Excellence in Sikkim for boys and girls for the age category of U 14 and U17.

''Perseverance, hard work, and dedication are the agents of self-reliance. I urge our youths to follow these concepts to come out with flying colours and I assure them that the state government will assist them in their journey,'' he added.

Recently, a total of four referees from the Sikkim Football Association (SFA) on January 7 left for Kolkata to attend their national-level exams which will be conducted by the AIFF on January 9.

The referees are Sushmita Rai from Namchi, Bibek Chettri from Lower Tumin, Subash Tamang from Gangtok, and Trilok Rai from Kalimpong.

A brief see-off programme was held at Sikkim Football Association's (SFA) football house where the head of referees Chamchuk Lama and SFA referees committee secretary Nima Diki Bhutia extended best wishes to them.

The four-day referee development course organized by SFA at Gangtok concluded on January 7 where written exams were held and certificates were also distributed at the football house.

In this course, a total of 52 referees had taken part out of which 48 were from Sikkim and four were from neighboring districts such as Darjeeling and Kalimpong.

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