Silchar: Trainees of the Silchar Football Academy held a silent protest on Sunday, opposing the decision to hand over their training ground for a trade fair. Around 30 young players stood for an hour with black cloth tied over their mouths, saying the field should remain a dedicated sports space.

Subimal Dhar, founder and joint secretary of the academy, said the academy began under the Silchar District Sports Association at the Town Club Ground before shifting to the Silchar Sporting Ground on a 25-year lease. Over the years, the academy fenced the ground, improved the playing surface and upgraded basic facilities with help from both government and private sources.

Although the lease was renewed, Dhar said the Silchar Sporting Club recently rented out the field for a trade fair without taking the academy’s training needs into account. The academy has filed a case and written to the local MLA, ministers, the MP and the District Commissioner seeking intervention.

Trainees said the fair has disrupted their routine and caused significant damage. Heavy vehicles and machinery have churned up the soft alluvial soil that the academy brought in years ago to reduce injury risk. They said the ground’s condition has worsened to the point where proper practice is almost impossible.

Dhar said the academy now trains around 150 students and that the ground had been used solely for sports and athletics for 27 years. He questioned how the trade fair was cleared at all.

Calling the decision unfair, the trainees urged the authorities to act quickly and restore the ground for sporting activities, saying young athletes should not have to struggle for a basic training space.

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