FIFA representatives are now in India for a three-day meeting with the AIFF to discuss how to implement the Talent Development Scheme (TDS) in the nation. FIFA is the governing organisation of football worldwide. The former Arsenal boss will subsequently travel to the subcontinent to examine its progress. The FIFA delegates and AIFF representatives are currently working out the specifics of the TDS’s implementation in India.
The AIFF President Chaubey opened the meeting by expressing gratitude to the FIFA representatives for sharing their knowledge with India. “The FIFA TDS is a top priority for us in India, and we are delighted to use FIFA’s and Arsene Wenger’s experience to develop a pool of outstanding football players in our nation. The FIFA TDS will be essential for us to realise our football potential in accordance with our “Vision 2047,” which is high on our priority list.
The Technical Department has been branched into different verticals: grassroots, player development, talent development, coach education, sports science and medicine, analytics, and youth development.
The FIFA delegates, after meeting the AIFF president and secretary general, had a lengthy discussion with the Federation’s Technical Department. Vincent Subramanian, the Federation’s chief technical officer, discussed the plans under ‘Vision 2047’ and ‘Target 2026″ and their means of implementation. AIFF Technical Director Syed Sabir Pasha is also set to join the meeting on Friday, May 5, after the completion of an ongoing workshop in Kuala Lumpur.
FIFA delegates were also apprised of the Technical Department and its plans under ‘Vision 2047’ and ‘Target 2026’, which are to have at least 3.5 lakh active coaches in India to broaden the game in the country. Efforts are also being made to have coaching instructors in every state across all levels, competitive coaches, attain leadership status in coach education with research, and put coach education in sync with player development.
The ‘Blue Cubs’ programme is also close to the heart of the Federation, as it plans to use the same to identify, promote, and develop elite players in top clubs and academies to groom them for junior and senior international levels at a later stage. An Elite Grassroots programme has also been planned by the Technical Department, which aims to have 100 million participants under the banner of ‘Vision 2047’.
‘Project Diamond’ also aims to further develop the elite youth players, once identified, with the Federation and clubs working in unison to help the footballers reach a higher level. The project also plans for a three-tier tournament at the youth level, which will ensure that the players get to play competitive matches all year round.
