CHENNAI: Participants at an online football coaching session, organised by the Sports Authority of India (SAI) and the All India Football Federation (AIFF), had a nice surprise waiting for them, on Friday. Giving them tips was none other than Croatia national team’s coach Zlatko Dalic.
The session was held on the penultimate day of the 13-day coach education which was launched by the AIFF and SAI on April 19. Apart from Dalic, sports minister Kiren Rijiju and national team coach Igor Stimac were also in attendance. Dalic had led Croatia to the final of the World Cup in 2018. Dalic, it has been learnt, commented on reducing the number of foreign players in Indian leagues, something that his countryman Stimac too has been vocal about. Dalic also talked about his experiences in Russia and what it meant to take Croatia to the final of World Cup.
“The organisers knew that Dalic would be participating, but it was a surprise for the participants,” said FIFA and AFC elite conditioning instructor Dr Pradip Dutta, who was also part of the session. More than 700 coaches participated in the session via video conferencing.
Dalic also interacted with Rijiju, who spoke of his vision to develop football in the country. “Introducing football at the school level and organising local football leagues is the way forward to build interest in the game among children across the country. Once we mass-base the game, then we can start scouting for talent and building up elite footballers,” he was quoted as saying at the session according to a SAI press release.
Rijiju also implored various corporates to come forward and support the game, once things get back to normal. “As the government, we can ensure that all resources will be made available and there will be enough financial support, but we need the football bodies at the state and district levels to actively organise more events to popularise the sport and draw out more talent. We also need corporates to come forward to sponsor leagues at all levels,” he said. “After the COVID-19 issue is over, I would like to meet the heads of the state federations, top coaches and technical officials so that we can draw up a plan.”