Thiruvananthapuram, Friday 19 December 2008: Sports and Youth Affairs Minister M VijayaKumar today said the government had decided to set up a ”Women’s Sports Academy” with an objective to encourage women athletes in the State.

Talking to reporters here, he said since the state had lot of talented women athletes who brought accolades for the state, the government wanted to give more focus to the sport through the academy.

Claiming such an Academy was first-of-its-kind in the country, he said the Sports Authority of India (SAI) would give all technical and financial assistance for the project, which would be implemented jointly by the State Sports Council and the State Government.

Since the project required huge amount, the SAI would take care of the financial aspects, while the State Government would provide the required land for the purpose.

The Academy would be set up at Chadayamangalam in Kollam District. The Agriculture Department had already released 20 acre of land for the purpose, he added.

Vijaya Kumar said SAI Secretary would visit the state tomorrow and further discussions in this regard would be held before signing the MoU with them.

He added after having discussions with the SAI authorities, the other formalities in this regard would be completed soon.