Kolkata, Jun 4 (IANS): West Bengal football's governing body, Indian Football Association (IFA) is extending help to several budding footballers and their families in Sunderbans region of the state after Cyclone Yaas ravaged it last week.

More than a week after Yaas made landfall, thousands of houses and farmlands are submerged, forcing people to take shelter in local schools and relief centres.

The IFA, which has a coaching centre in Gosaba delta island in Sunderbans, is providing "essential rations" to the families of 63 young footballers who train at the academy.

"The cyclone has devastated these regions (Gosaba delta island) in the Sunderbans, and many of these players' families have been affected," said IFA general secretary Joydeep Mukherjee.

"We felt it was our duty to look into their well-being.

"We have been with them during good times. And now that the bad times have hit, we need to ensure that they are taken care of. It was disheartening to see how badly the cyclone had affected their lives. But still, many of them came forward asking when they would be able to play football again, such was their zeal."