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All India Football Federation (AIFF) President Kalyan Chaubey met with the Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports, Mansukh Mandaviya, on Thursday. During the meeting, Chaubey briefed the minister on the existing AIFF-FIFA Academy in Odisha and outlined plans to establish four additional AIFF-FIFA Academies across various zones in the country.
Ged Roddy from FIFA's Technical Development Services (TDS) was present, along with AIFF Secretary General Anilkumar and Deputy Secretary General M Satyanarayan. The AIFF-FIFA Academy in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, was launched following a visit by Arsene Wenger, FIFA's Chief of Global Football Development and widely regarded as one of the world's most successful youth coaches. The academy currently houses 32 cadets. Ged Roddy, FIFA TDS Project Director, is currently in India to review the initiative. After the meeting, which also discussed the importance of coach development, the minister assured the AIFF of full support for football's development in India. Mandaviya remarked, "An elaborate plan must be devised and executed to help India achieve a FIFA ranking below 50 in the next ten years. India boasts one of the largest pools of young talent globally. The focus should be on grassroots development and talent identification, alongside coach development, which is pivotal for the sport's growth," as stated in a release by the AIFF Media Team. The minister further noted, "Rapid economic growth and an expanding middle class are reshaping attitudes towards sports. Parents now encourage children to balance academics with sports, unlike earlier times." He added, "The government is committed to providing comprehensive support for sports development in India. Initiatives such as new training centres and partnerships with international bodies will drive progress." AIFF President Chaubey emphasised the need for additional academies, saying, "Given the size and population of a vast country like India, one AIFF-FIFA academy in Odisha is not sufficient. We have proposed establishing four more regional academies with the same technical support from FIFA." Chaubey also presented a detailed plan to the Sports Minister, highlighting the current structure of football in India. "Presently, there are 25 fully professional clubs in the ISL and the I-League. Additionally, 80 AIFF-accredited academies have under-13 teams. Details of these teams have been shared with the ministry," he stated, as per the AIFF Media Team release. "If the U13 players from these 105 teams follow a unified football philosophy under FIFA's technical guidance through five zonal AIFF-FIFA Academies, we could have 110 U13 teams. This initiative could create approximately 3,300 players (with 30 players per team) trained under a consistent football philosophy. The success of this project could potentially enable India to qualify for the U17 World Cup on merit," said the AIFF President. (ANI)
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