Sheffield FC to play against Lajong FC and Assam XI

New Delhi: English football club Sheffield FC will play against Lajong FC of Shillong and an Assam XI team

after participating in the Platinum Jubilee Cup in Kolkata, a tournament organised to commemorate Mohammedan Sporting`s 75 years of existence. "They are scheduled to reach Guwahati on November 17th and will play against Assam XI team at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium in Sarusajai on November 18," said All India Football Federation (AIFF) vice-president and Assam Football Association general secretary Ankur Dutta. Following the three-day Platinum Jubilee Cup in Kolkata, where Sheffield FC will play against East Bengal, Mohun Bagan and Mohammedan Sporting on knock-out basis, the world`s oldest football club will fly to Shillong via Guwahati and play an exhibition match at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium there on November 16. They will then play a match in Guwahati on November 18. "I am not sure about the make of the Sheffield squad that will be visiting here but some good players will be there for sure for the exhibition matches and that will be a good exposure," Dutta said from Guwahati. The English club had, in August, tied up with the Jamshedpur-based Tata Football Academy (TFA), the country`s premier soccer school, which has been producing quality players for years with the aim to impart professional training to TFA coaches and cadets. The tie-up is initially for three years after which it may be continued on the interest of both the academies. As a part of this tie-up, SUFC is supposed to formulate a 12-month programme on coaching, fitness and professional development of coaches. The tie-up has also opened up an opportunity for the selected trainees to appear in trials in England. The training sessions include lessons on strategy for player recruitment, identification and profiling. PTI