SDFC vow to reclaim Hyd’s past glory
Buoyed by the brilliant run of the Sreenidi Deccan Football Club (SDFC) on their debut in the IFA Shield, the top man in the Sreenidhi set up promised to bring back Hyderabad’s lost glory in football.
“Hyderabad had a strong football tradition with more than seven players on the national team at the 1952, 1956 and 1960 Olympics. Unfortunately, there is a decline in the patronage for football and over a period of a time the standards have diminished. Sreenidhi Educational Group has a strong resolve to reclaim the past glory of Hyderabad in particularly Andhra Pradesh and Telangana State in general,” said K. Abhijit Rao, Chief Executive Officer of Sreenidhi Educational Group.
“With this motive the Sreenidhi Educational Group ventured systematically by creating world class facilities and youth development from grassroots level in the football game and which eventually got a place for Sreenidi Deccan FC in the ILeague,” he added.
“The team is a mix of players from Andhra, Telangana, rest of India as well as abroad. SDFC is committed to supporting and fulfilling the dreams of young footballers,” Mr Rao said.
He said the group was creating opportunities for other sports and games as well. “Thanks to the vision of our group chairman Dr K. T. Mahi, we provide the best possible education and also develop sports and games. We have the VVS Laxman Cricket Academy on the campus of our International School,” he said.
And it is likely to go bigger. “The Sreenidhi University has been awaiting approval for long. All our plans are already well laid out to establish a Multi-disciplinary educational centre in the name of Sreenidhi University in Hyderabad.
There is talk about a Sports School too being established by the group. “We are presently running the Sreenidhi Sports Academy in which we are planning to start with a capacity of 200 student athletes, who will also be provided excellent educational facilities. A student may become a professional athlete in choice of his sport or he can take up further studies in the field of his choice,” Mr Rao said.
“This is a unique program where the sport gets equal priority along with academics and the sports school ensure student athletes also to get the academic qualifications ensuring their further studies,” he added.
“The program is customised to the individual needs of each student-athlete. We encourage other sports such as golf, tennis, basketball, squash and swimming as well,” Mr Rao concluded.
With a runner-up finish on debut in the country’s second oldest football tournament, Sreenidi Deccan FC is set to boost the game of football in Hyderabad.