Kolkata, Sep 7: Newly appointed All India Football Federation president Kalyan Chaubey said that it is important to increase grassroot participation in the sport to find more talent in the country.
The All India Football Federation (AIFF) on Friday announced the name of its president in its 85-year history with Kalyan Chaubey defeating the legendary Bhaichung Bhutia in the election for the top post. The 45-year-old Chaubey, an ex-goalkeeper with Mohun Bagan and East Bengal, prevailed 33-1 as former Indian football skipper Bhutia lost the election and got only 1 vote.
“We need to increase the level of participation. We have to make sure that at district levels and below that, more and more children play the sport and they are provided facilities and infrastructure. We need to look into this. If more kids between 6-12 years old will play football, more will come into the senior side,” said Chaubey to ANI.
“We had said in the press conference that we will take out our vision of Indian football policy in 100 days after appointment. We have asked state associations for State Development Plan. For a problem in India, a single solution is not possible. After getting these plans, we will look into how feasible they are, estimate them and create a plan on how Indian football policy should be,” he added.
The president is happy that FIFA Under 17 Women’s Football World Cup is happening in India for the first time.
On challenges in organising the event, he said, “When such tournaments are conducted, FIFA provides technical and administrative advice as well. For the last 2-4 years, the Local Organisation Committee are staying here. It is good that this event is happening for the first time in India and we hope that Team India does well in it.”
The biennial youth tournament, scheduled to be held between October 11 and 30, 2022, will see the best young female footballers across the world showcase their talent in India and tickets for the same are now live.
Chaubey said that over the last 19 months, state football associations had come together to ensure that Indian football is run in a democratic manner and worked hard for it. He thanked the Government of India for acting swiftly to make sure that FIFA lifted the ban imposed on Indian Football. (ANI)
