Football match organised in Maoist-affected Lalgarh in West Bengal

West Bengal Sports Ministry has organised a football match at the Maoist affected area of Lalgarh on Sunday.

Thousands of local villagers came to see the match between Kolkata team (Mitra's team) and Jangalmahal 11 (Lalgarh Football team).

Rural Development Minister Sisir Adhikari and Sports Minister Madan Mitra were also present during the occasion.

Talking to reporters, Mitra said local budding footballers would be selected and sent for professional training soon.

"A spotter (selection) team will come here to choose 50 best players and we will train them for 21 days at Yuva Bharati Krirangan (stadium) in Kolkata. Then 20 players will be selected to establish a registered team and they will contest in each match. We want that team to play in Kolkata first division I-league and it will be done as early as possible," said Mitra.

Elated local players expressed their excitement over the opportunity to get groomed into professional footballers through training imparted by experts.

"I am very excited to play and watch the match that was equivalent to the Santosh trophy. This is an opportunity for me to play with national players and contest with other teams of Kolkata," said Sunil Mandi, player of Jangalmahal 11 and Man of the Match of the tournament.(ANI)