Ace footballer Bhaichung Bhutia visited the R10 Football Academy at Merlin Rise in Rajarhat on the sweltering Sunday afternoon of April 28th. The football star was genuinely enthused to inspect all the state-of-the-art facilities of the Club Pavilion that houses the R10 Football Academy and the Yuvraj Singh Centre of Excellence at Merlin Rise, the sports city being developed by Merlin Group in Rajarhat.
Despite the soaring mercury, the football prodigy was undeterred in visiting the football ground at Merlin Rise. He met and greeted all the students of R10 Academy and also shared some effective tips with them. The students were visibly joyous and energetic as their dream footballer, Bhaichung Bhutia, met them.
Commenting on the occasion, Mr. Saket Mohta, MD of Merlin Group, said, “We at Merlin Group are thrilled to have the football star Bhaichung Bhutia among us at the R10 Football Academy at Merlin Rise. We are committed to creating an excellent greenfield sports township in Rajarhat. Sports icons like Ronaldinho, Yuvraj Singh, and Michael Phelps are associated with us here. Bollywood actor Tiger Shroff is also establishing an MMA martial academy here. Last year the football icon Ronaldinho himself visited his academy at Merlin Rise. Football star Bhaichung Bhutia’s coveted presence and appreciation have enhanced our spirits.”
The R10 Football Academy is a collaboration between Ronaldinho Gaucho and the Merlin Group that aims to nurture football talent in Bengal and position Bengal as a dominant force in global football. The R10 academy in Merlin Rise in Rajarhat is Ronaldinho’s only academy in India. Ronaldinho has set up 10 such football academies worldwide to develop football talent among kids.
R10 Football Academy at Merlin Rise is a state-of-the-art football academy that uses advanced methods of training and skill-building designed exclusively by Ronaldinho and his football academy for all his academies worldwide. Currently, 100 students between the ages of 5 to 17 years are being trained at the R10 Football Academy at Merlin Rise by expert coaches selected by R10 Football Academy of Brazil. Krishnendu Ray, former star footballer of Bengal, has been mentoring the students. The coaches undergo regular training as per the guidelines set up by the R10 Football Academy. The Academy organizes a championship among all R10 Football Academies across the world, where talented students from each academy will get a chance to play in the tournament. This will give them exposure to football skills and techniques from other parts of the world. R10 Football Academy also arranges exchange programs.
Merlin Rise – The Sports Republic, launched by Merlin Group in 2021, is a vast sports city in Rajarhat. It includes the Club Pavilion with sports academies by icons like Ronaldinho, Yuvraj Singh, and Michael Phelps. Actor Tiger Shroff is establishing an MMA Matrix Training Centre. While the Ronaldinho-R10 Football Academy and The Yuvraj Singh Centre of Excellence (YSCE) are operational, the Michael Phelps Swimming academy and MMA centre are yet to open.
