Veteran actor and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Mithun Chakraborty on Friday, 15 May said the Bengal Football Academy has been a long-cherished ambition of his — one that he claims was repeatedly blocked by political opposition over the past 15 years. Meeting Minister Nisith Pramanik in Kolkata, Chakraborty expressed renewed confidence that the newly elected BJP government in West Bengal would finally help translate the vision into reality.

A Dream Deferred for 15 Years

Chakraborty said he had been pursuing the academy project for a decade and a half, only to see it stall at every turn. He attributed the repeated failures to resistance from the then-ruling All India Trinamool Congress (TMC), without elaborating on specific incidents.

'Bengal Football Academy has been a dream of mine for the past 15 years. They didn't let me do anything. Whatever I wanted to do, they had stopped me, and then I also got fed up. But this year our government has come, and we have got such a good minister. So, I came here and told him that I want to do this again,' Chakraborty said.

What the Meeting Covered

The meeting with Minister Nisith Pramanik was focused on reviving the proposed football academy under the new political dispensation. No formal announcement on funding, location, or a timeline for the academy was made public following the discussion. The proposal remains at the consultation stage, according to available information.

Chakraborty on His Political Journey

The actor-politician also reflected on his role in BJP's grassroots campaign in West Bengal over the past five years, describing extensive outreach across villages and localities ahead of the state assembly elections.

'Why did I work so hard? Not from today, I have been working hard for five years. For five years, I went to small villages, streets, and lanes and held meetings. Just to bloom the lotus. We had nothing else; we just wanted to say that everyone should come under one roof,' he said.

What Minister Pramanik Said

Minister Nisith Pramanik praised Chakraborty's enduring connection with football, noting that the actor had been a capable player himself before his rise to national fame in Bollywood.

'Mithun Da is not just a big figure in Bollywood. You all know that he is a big football fan; he was a very good footballer himself. We also watched a lot of his matches. This is a very proud moment for us. Today, such a big figure, who has touched the sky in his position, has not forgotten Bengal's most beloved sport, football,' Pramanik said.

The minister added: 'He still wants to do something for football and is even ready to die for football.'

What Comes Next

West Bengal has historically been one of India's most passionate football states, home to storied clubs such as Mohun Bagan and East Bengal. A dedicated state football academy, if it materialises, could provide structured pathways for young talent at a time when Indian club football is expanding under the Indian Super League (ISL). No formal proposal has yet been tabled before the state government, and the project's shape — including funding model and location — remains to be defined.