Football matches at the village level organized in the territorial region of Bodoland in Assam. The third photo shows footballers during the indigenous festival. Photo: Special arrangement
Implementation of government programs, providing services and monitoring projects are not the only duties of development committees for the village (VCDC) across the Assam territorial region (BTR). They are also hunters of sports talents and facilitators of events who improve athletic skills.
BTR consists of five districts bordering on Bhutan and follow the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC). About a year ago, the BTC government launched an experiment to rebrand BTR as one of India’s most general sports incubators. In VCDCS, he joined the pattern of potential athletes and created a favorable atmosphere to play, starting with the most popular sport – football.
Campaign for Assam’s Voting Bodoland Territory Council Entes
The months of preparation, supported by fiscal and basic infrastructure by BTR government, culminated in the first multi -level festival Bodoland General Cup Cup in June. The unique format included matches between the village teams in each of the five BTR districts – Baksa, Chirang, Kokrajhar, Tamulpur and Udalguri.
“The best teams at VCDC tournaments graduated to the BTC constituency.
The football festival saw unprecedented participation in 3,760 teams and 67,680 players, almost half of them girls and women. The exercise was listed in one of the monthly radio programs Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a celebration of “Unity and Hope”.
Unity was a reference to the ethnic composition of the once communally volatile BTR. The region is home to 26 ethnic and religious groups.
Facility of additional level
Many footballers, archers, boxers and sprinters in Assam come from BTR. Despite the talent, despite the fact that the region lacked sufficient facilities for athletes to train and improve their skills, mainly because of its history of extremism and political violence.
The script began to change after the Covid pandemic. The BTR government teamed up with state and central agencies for sports training centers, rehabilitation facilities and stadiums.
“What began as a set of modest, locally operated competitions has grown to coordinated pressure combining community terrain, elite coaching, sports science and mass participation,” Muchahara said.
VCDCs were gardeners who sowed athletic seeds and helped them hatch for the next level for experts to take over.
The focus on quality infrastructure was brought by high -performance sports training and rehabilitation center in Kokrajhar in mid -2025. The third such center in Assam, built in cooperation with state sports authorities and corporate houses, offers advanced injuries management, biomechanical and physiological evaluation, nutritional support and recovery services.
In addition to the FIFA football field in Kokrajhar with drainage and sprinkler system-based systems in the northeast region-BTC started the Sports Academy in Udalguri 180. More such academies are in the pipeline.
If this was not enough, the Government of the Council integrated modern sports with traditional festivals of indigenous faith and culture, such as Baokhungri, organized every year, the day before Middle April or its Bodo Avatar, Bwisag. Adventure Sports are also part of such festivals of inclusive sexes.
Published – September 2025 01:24
