Mumbai: An MOU has been signed between the Education Ministry of India and FIFA, All India Football Federation (AIFF) in order to implement the “Football for Schools” programme and perform activities related to the same in India. The MOU was signed in Navi Mumbai.
"The “Football for Schools” programme aims at making football more accessible for schoolchildren and therewith contributing to the education, social development and empowerment of boys and girls. #Football4Schools," said the Ministry of Education on Twitter.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino; Minister of State, Minister of State for Home Affairs and Youth Affairs & Sports Nisith Pramanik; Minister for School Education and Marathi Language of Maharashtra Deepak Kesarkar; President, All India Football Federation, Kalyan Chaubey; Commissioner, Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti Vinayak Garg & officials of All India Football Federation were all present during the signing of the MOU.
"Football is an immensely popular sport. We are using it as a positive tool to make education more accessible, inspire children and ensure their holistic development. #Football4Schools aims to empower 25 million young boys and girls in India through sports-integrated learning," said another tweet by Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, who emphasised that #Football4Schools is a step towards translating PM Modi’s vision of making sports as a way of life as well as creating well-rounded citizens
Under the program, 25 million students will be trained and 700 Navodaya Vidyalayas will be nodal agency for football in India.
The announcement of the MOU comes amid the ongoing Under 17 FIFA Women's World Cup being held in India.
