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NEW DELHI: As part of the AIFF Pilot Project, the FIFA-State Development Workshop aimed to provide impetus to the growth of Football in India, kicked-off at the AIFF Headquarters in the Capital today (December 10, 2015).
The two-day workshop which is slated to conclude tomorrow (December 11, 2015) is being conducted by a six-member FIFA Delegation headed by Mike Pfister, FIFA Senior Development Manager for representatives of 5 State Associations, namely the Mizoram Football Association, Goa Football Association, Indian Football Association, Kolkata, Kerala Football Association and the Western India Football Association.
Juerg Nepfer, Head of Education and Technical Department, Hans-Ruedi Hasler, FIFA Technical Consultant, Vincent Subramaniam, FIFA Technical Officer, Kenny MacLeod, FIFA Marketing & Communication Consultant and Dr.Shaji Prabhakaran, FIFA Development Officer comprise the rest of the FIFA Delegation.
Speaking on the occasion, the All India Football Federation General Secretary Mr.Kushal Das said, “It is a first of its kind initiative by the AIFF in engaging with the State Associations to improve the capacity in terms of opportunity and marketing.”
“AIFF is grateful to FIFA for supporting and guiding this project and I cannot over emphasize the need for State Associations to improve their capacity for the overall development of Indian Football.”
“AIFF will guide and monitor the whole project but the owners of the implementation are the State Associations and they should not let go of this opportunity”, Mr.Das opined.
Reactions to Workshop have been positive so far: Pfister
The AIFF Pilot Project aims in restructuring and laying a path for development of State Associations and besides the Indian Football Association, Kolkata, the other five provisional venues for the FIFA 2017 U-17 World Cup namely Delhi, Mumbai, Goa, Kochi and Guwahati have also been included in the Pilot Project. In addition, Mizoram Football Association have also been included for their involvement at the Grassroots and Youth Development
“FIFA’s outlook of the AIFF Pilot Project is very positive and ambitious. Our approach of working with a committed group of stakeholder in Indian Football can lead to something special in the country,” Mike Pfister told www.the-aiff.com.
“Football is not only developed in the metropolitans and Cities, it is developed in the countryside amongst myriads of people especially kids too, as the Footballing elite of any nation comes from Grassroots Football.”
“The reactions to the workshop have been very positive thus far, who knows what the future holds,” smiles Mike.
Meanwhile, FIFA Regional Development Officer, Dr.Shaji Prabhakaran touted the Workshop as, “informative and imperative for the growth of Football in India”.
“As part of the AIFF Strategic Plan to develop State Associations the Workshop focuses on key steps that one should take to extend the outreach of Football in the States going forward.”
“Without the support and development of State Football Associations, Indian Football cannot reach its potential and hence it is imperative for AIFF to develop State FAs through a step by step process,” Dr.Shaji quipped.
Over the course of two days, 16 representatives from 5 State Associations will zoom in on how to extend Football horizons in their respective States through marketing, communications and technical aspects.
“As we have brought in experts from FIFA the sessions will be interactive and aimed to give a better outlook of strategy and governance.”
“We will discuss the visions of the State Associations and help them zero down on the pathway,” Dr.Shaji informed.
