PANJIM: The All India Football Federation (AIFF) will give a grant of Rs 24 lakh to each Member Association from the budget of Rs 134 crore for the upcoming season.
From the Rs 134 crore, Rs 50 crore will come from the commercial partner, which also runs the ISL, Rs 25 crore from the sports ministry and the rest through FIFA largesse allocated to the member nations and other avenues.
The AIFF decided to start the Blue Cubs programme for Under-6 to Under-12 children, where training schools can be part of the initiative by paying a franchise fee.
M Satyanarayan, secretary of Karnataka State Football Association, has been appointed as the new deputy secretary general. His appointment is being seen as further decentralisation of power from secretary general Shaji Prabhakaran. The federation has also decided to revive the Federation Cup after a gap of six years.
Addressing the Annual General Body Meeting president Kalyan Chaubey highlighted the massive support that the Federation has received from FIFA and AFC.
“In the last nine months, we have met the FIFA President (Mr. Gianni Infantino) at least six times, and we also received a personalised message on video from him, ratifying the Santosh Trophy. That is the strength of the relationship we have built with FIFA. They have also promised massive support to us through their coaching and Grassroots programmes.
“We also met AFC President (Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa) and General Secretary (Datuk Seri Windsor John), and discussed the potential around the growth of football in India.”
Women’s football is a big part of the Federation’s plans for the future, charted out in its strategic roadmap, Vision 2047, and the President outlined AIFF’s intention to take the women’s game further forward.
“We have in our minds, an all-round inclusive growth for women’s football for the country. We realise that if we put in good work now in this area, our women footballers in the future can reap the rewards,” Chaubey said. “The need of the hour, at the moment for our women footballers, is more exposure at the international level, so that they can improve and put out better performances against top opponents in Asia and the world.”
This was the first AGM under the new management and was attended by all State Associations except Tamil Nadu and Jammu & Kashmir. GFA’s president Caitano Fernandes represented Goa.
