BHUBANESWAR: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik along with the chief of global football development at FIFA, Arsene Wenger, inaugurated the AIFF-FIFA Talent Academy at Kalinga stadium during the India vs Qatar match. Stating that football is a popular game in India among youngsters, the chief minister said there is a lot of talent in the country and with proper coaching facilities, the Indian team can perform well in future. “I am happy that we are able to partner with FIFA and AIFF to create such academies. Odisha will support football projects and work in close collaboration with AIFF for football promotion in India,” he added.
AIFF-FIFA talent academy is a major initiative to boost football development in India. AIFF and FIFA are partnering with the state government in establishing the academy. About 50 talented football players in the under 14 years category will be selected for the academy from across the country, including 15 Odisha players. The academy will be headed by a FIFA appointed coach along with other coaches and staff from AIFF and state government. Chairman of 5T and Nabin Odisha VK Pandian interacted with Wenger during his visit to the stadium. Pandian showed the upcoming sports science centre at Kalinga Stadium to Wenger, who was impressed with the commitment of the state towards sports development.
Earlier, AIFF and Sport and Youth Services department signed memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the academy in the presence of Wenger. He stated the programme aims at identifying football talent in India, give good education and good level of competition to make great players. Stating the target will be to get India back on the football map, he said no country has more right than any other to be at the top. “You cannot start to play football at 15, you need to start at five or six,” he said adding he and his team are here to create a football nation.
President of AIFF Kalyan Choubey thanked the Odisha goverment and FIFA for their support in setting up the football academy. Minister of State for Sports and Youth Services Tusharkanti Behera said in future this academy will generate many footballers for the country. Secretary of Sports and Youth Services department Vineel Krishna thanked Wenger for selecting Bhubaneswar for setting up the academy.