New Delhi: The Football for Schools programme has been started by FIFA, the All India Football Federation (AIFF), and the Government of India with the intention of popularising the sport all over the nation.
AIFF President Mr. Kalyan Chaubey, FIFA Secretary General MS Fatima Samoura, Minister for Education and Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Dharmendra Pradhan, Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports Nisith Pramanik, and Secretary General Dr. Shaji Prabhakaran launched the initiative for Football for Schools in India at a meeting with the local media on Monday, October 10, 2022. The FIFA project also seeks to reach out to more than 700 million youngsters around the world, with a particular focus on all the tribal communities.
The FIFA Secretary General, Fatima Samoura while highlighting the importance of reaching out to youngsters across the country and the world with the language of football, said that teaching them life lessons to make them better citizens in the future is also important.
“Football is the language that brings everybody together. Whether you are an Indian, Senegalese, or Italian, when you kick a ball to a child, he will kick it back. One does not have to be in the same geographic zone or in the same community to be able to play together,” said Samoura. “With the help of the AIFF President Mr. Chaubey, and with the two Ministers, we have also looked into the possibility of furthering the Football for Schools programme in India, which is very dear to the FIFA President (Gianni Infantino) himself," Samoura continued.
“The project was born four years ago, in a discussion between FIFA and UNESCO, and the idea was to have $ 100 mobilised by FIFA to reach out to over 700 million children across the world. Our aim is to educate children on various topics, not just about football, and to make them better citizens of their country. We also have a target of having 50 percent girls,” she further added.
AIFF President Kalyan Chaubey while hailing the presence of Ministers for the meet said, “The amount of work done after the pandemic to get the venues for the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup ready is nothing short of incredible. With the pandemic also happening in the country the previous years, things were difficult, but I and very thankful that we have all overcome these challenges, and are now ready to go for the World Cup."
The launch of the initiative comes amid the ongoing FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup which is being held across three cities in India from October 11 to October 30.
