2. Grassroots Football in India
Indian football is hoping for a better future then as hosts of the
upcoming 2017 FIFA Under-17 World Cup it gives India the
much needed push to set its house in order in regard to overall
youth development.
But what does this mean for the development of football in India
at the grassroots level?
Does this mean better structure in a developmental football
pyramid?
3. Grassroots Football in India
Through the Lakshya 2022 program, the AIFF technical director
Rob Baan has created a first-ever roadmap for football
development in India with a focus on youth development
But the program's main focus is on Elite Players Development
from the age group of 12 to 19 years
In a positive, it has lead to the creation of the AIFF Regional
Academies & the AIFF Elite Academy for Under-19 boys!
4. Grassroots Football in India
AIFF grassroots program has been initiated by the federation
which it is trying to spread it out across the country
But it does not address the issues of grassroots football
development in non-registered clubs and organisations
not all state football associations across the country are seeing
the need for youth development
further the program currently sees little to no integration of
private initiatives into the official federation system
5. Grassroots Football in India
currently this program is restricted to certain pockets, it isn't
inclusive and does not really reach the masses, which should be
the aim of all of the AIFF’s initiatives across India.
These programs shouldn’t just be about a hand-picked number
of boys going through a proper youth development system
but rather as many children as possible playing the beautiful
game of football with the best filtered through the system from
the bottom to the top in a pyramid structure
6. Grassroots Football in India
India needs a grassroots program which is spread across the
length and breadth of the country
the country needs a program which goes into schools, football
nurseries (training centres, football schools, academies), works
with NGOs, children in rural India and areas which are difficult to
access then talent knows no boundaries
millions of children (boys/girls), across from 6 to 12 years need to
be a part of the program with the best scouted by qualified
coaches for further camps at the local, district, state, regional
and national level
7. Grassroots Football in India
This way the development pyramid could take shape, but results
should not be expected overnight as development of such a
program would need seven to 10 years, if not even more
it also should be clear that the above program, if implemented in
India would need big financial support and the appropriate
manpower to run and implement such a nationwide program
there would be a need for thousands of AFC ‘D’ and ‘C’ licence
coaches, who could then run the program.
