Tata Football Academy (TFA) coach Vijay Kumar is likely to be adjudged Best Coach of the IFA Shield. A three-member committee comprising ex-India footballers Sudhir Karmakar, Goutam Sarkar and Manas Bhattacharya will name the winner after the final on Saturday. The Indian Football Association (IFA) has introduced the Best Coach award in memory of former India coach Abdul Rahim. There would be a trophy and cash award for the selected coach.

A rumour is doing the rounds that only Indian coaches will be considered for the prize. IFA secretary Utpal Ganguli, however, allayed such fears. “All coaches cutting across club colours and geographical boundaries will be judged on equal platform,” he told The Indian Express.

The committee is very impressed with Kumar. “We have to take into account everything — the performance at the cluster level and also in the main rounds. The youngsters of TFA played exceptionally well. They beat East Bengal by a big margin and bowed out of the tournament only on goal difference and without losing a match. He who has nurtured these youngsters deserves credit. They are not a big team, they don’t have any foreigners. But they outshone the big names. While selecting the candidate we will focus mainly on three aspects — technical aspect, player-changing and team management,” said one of the committee members. “TFA has been a nursery of Indian football, this should also be kept in mind,” he added. Kumar was registered as the TFA coach for the IFA Shield, while Shyam Thapa was the technical director.

... contd.