Arunachal to introduce football training programme in 200 schools

Itanagar: The Arunachal Pradesh government will soon launch a programme to promote football in 200 schools of the state, Education Minister Taba Tedir said.

The 'Football for School' programme, a first-of-its-kind initiative, will aim to groom budding talents in the age group of 6 to 13, he said.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was inked between FIFA and the Union Education Ministry to promote football among children, Tedir said.

"Every state has been asked to prepare a plan for the initiative. We held a meeting on Monday on the issue. Officers of the Education and Sports departments, and members of the Arunachal Pradesh Football Association (APFA) were present in the meeting," he said.

The Union Education Ministry and FIFA would provide support for the programme, he added.

"Schools having playground and physical education teachers will be selected for the initiative. We will also see that schools having more than 50 to 100 children in the prescribed age group are given preference," the minister said.

The APFA is working on the programme, targeting to start it in December, and Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan would launch it in the state, Tedir said.

All India Football Federation (AIFF) Treasurer Kipa Ajay said Arunachal Pradesh will be the first state in the country to have such a programme.

The initiative would help popularise football in the state, he hoped.