Sports Ministry announces new incentive structure to fund 500 private academies

The Sports Ministry has come up with an incentivisation structure which will provide monetary support to 500 private academies. It will be done through the Khelo India scheme in the year 2020-21.

In this scheme, the academies will be graded into different categories. Quality and achievement of players trained by the academy, level of coaches available at the academy, quality of field of play and allied infrastructure, availability of sports science facilities and staff.

The 14 priority disciplines identified for excellence in 2028 Olympics will be eligible for receiving support in the first phase.

FS Video

I am happy to share a good news this Diwali. In a first-time move following PM @narendramodi Ji's vision, Sports Ministry will provide incentives to 500 private academies under Khelo India. In the first phase, monetary assistance will be given to 14 Olympic sports disciplines. pic.twitter.com/jXxpceS5Nn
— Kiren Rijiju (@KirenRijiju) November 14, 2020

Speaking of the decision, Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju said, “It is important for the government to extend support to these institutions so that sporting talent can be groomed even in the most remote areas of the country,“

“There are a lot of small academies in various parts of the country that are doing very good work in identifying and training athletes. This move aims to encourage all academies, especially the private academies, to continue improving the level of infrastructure, resources and sports science support so that athletes can get best in class training,” he added.

Under this scheme, Sports Authority of India (SAI) will be working closely with National Sports Federations (NSF). SAI will also hold discussions with NSFs to implement categorization and gradation of the academies.

The number of academies to be funded and the quantum of funding under each discipline will be determined by an objective evaluation of the need for investment and each NSF’s capabilities to leverage the incentivisation model and promote excellence in Olympics in their respective discipline.

There will be special focus on developing sports science facilities at the academies to improve the overall quality of training.

Indian players and coaches thank the Sports Ministry

The Sports Ministry’s decision of providing monetary support to 500 private academies is being hailed by Indian players.

London Olympic Bronze medalist, Gagan Narang, who has his own shooting academy, ‘Gun for Glory’, welcomed this decision. Narang said, “This is a huge boost for private academies because it will motivate them to ensure they keep creating world-class infrastructure and ensure higher resources in the development of world-class athletes.”

National badminton coach, P Gopichand thanked the government and SAI for the initiative.

“I think this is a big initiative for sports in the country and this will benefit all sections of sportspersons and the sports ecosystem immensely. This is a huge step forward and I would like to congratulate the government and the Sports Authority of India for the wonderful initiative,” he said.

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