After hosting a successful FIFA Under-17 World Cup (the final, between Spain and England is today), the All India Football Federation (AIFF) has bid to host the FIFA Under-20 World Cup in 2019. FIFA president Gianni Infantino, who is in Kolkata for Sunday’s World Cup final, was effusive in praise for hosts India for organising a successful tournament. “…I can say that it’s all set to surpass the all-time attendance record for the U-17 World Cup achieved in China in 1985 and I feel India can also beat the record of attendance of U-20 World Cup achieved in Colombia. India is not [only] a country but a continent,” he said.

AIFF general secretary Kushal Das spoke to Qaiser Mohammad Ali on various issues related to Indian football, and why it is still not a force despite having a population of over a billion people. Excerpts from an interview:

After the fighting display by the under-17 boys exhibited at the World Cup, what are the immediate future plans that AIFF has chalked out for these players? Is there any move to preserve, groom and develop some, or all, members of the squad – and also the coaching/support staff -- so that they could graduate and serve the national team?

They are playing the Under-19 AFC Qualifiers in Saudi Arabia from November 4 [13 players from the World Cup squad are in the squad]. The head coach is Luis Norton de Matos, with Hugo Martin and Floyd Pinto as assistant coaches, for this team. On return, this team will participate in the I-League. If they qualify for the AFC Under-19 Championship in 2018, then we will plan international competitions and exposure tours commencing immediately after the I-League. Our dream target is for this team to qualify for the Under-20 FIFA World Cup in 2019.

What are the present main plans/schemes of the AIFF to encourage, promote and develop the game among the masses and in building strong various national teams, including the senior side?

We had an outreach program called Mission XI Million that reached schools in 29 states along with Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports (MYAS), which connected with over 11 million schools. The impact amongst the children -- boys and girls -- was very good and, hopefully, football will become popular in these schools. We hope to continue this legacy with the support of the government. We are now starting an under-13 National League; we started an under-15 league two years back. We also have an under-18 National League for some years now. Our next step is to start the ‘Baby Leagues’, which is for the 6-12 age group across the country, with the help of the state associations and clubs. We would like to synergise it with the MYAS ‘Khelo India’ project. I think if we are able to synchronise all these youth development activities we will have very competitive national teams in five to seven years/

Do you feel the AIFF has enough funds to sustain its present and future plans/policies? Would you like the government as well as the corporate sector to increase their contribution to help the AIFF achieve its various goals?

Certainly, funds are a constraint, especially to run programmes across the country, but we are now hopeful that with the buzz, which the FIFA Under-17 World Cup has created, corporates and government will support our development plans through CSR and other schemes like ‘Khelo India’. It is very important for the state associations to come forward and put in their contribution. Except for a few state associations, most are almost non-functional and it is very difficult for the NSF [National Sports Federation] do everything for such a large country and that too with limited resources.

Does the AIFF feel that the various private football academies/private competitions running presently can contribute towards raising the standard of the game in the country -- and, eventually, strong national teams?

Certainly, provided they follow the AIFF philosophy for development and have proper completion regulations approved by the AIFF. In fact, we have started an academy accreditation programme where the AIFF technical team inspects the academies and ratings are given. An academy which gets ‘one star’ will be able to participate in under-13 and under-15 leagues and a higher rating will enable them to participate in the under-18 league. The number of academies seeking the AIFF accreditation has increased significantly.

What are the main reasons of India not being a footballing force that it should have been with a population of over one billion? Where did we slip after our ‘Golden Period’ (1948-1964)?

I think the significant reason is the lack of structured grassroots and youth development. The lack of administration and technical skills amongst the administrators in many states is also a reason. Even AIFF ‘Football House’ [its headquarters] was built in 2004. Before that the office used to be based where the elected general secretary was from. There was hardly any skilled staff in the AIFF. Lack of playing infrastructure is also one of the reasons. It was difficult to find a reasonable playing surface to play competitions. The Golden Period was different. India actually had competitions and a very vibrant Calcutta League where the best footballers played. Very few of the other Asian countries had such a structure then, so we could compete with the best. But then the other countries started doing the right things like setting up national leagues for all age groups. Japan set up its national league in late 1980s and even countries like the UAE had national leagues in all age groups by the 1990s. India was able to set up a proper national league [I-League] only in 2007. Obviously, the other Asian countries with the right structure went far ahead of India but now we are on the right track.

What are the chances of India hosting other Fifa World Cups (like, under-20) or any other major global tournaments in near future? Would AIFF propose that to the relevant authorities, if not already done?

We have submitted our expression of interest for hosting the FIFA under-20 World Cup in 2019. The tournament is held in June which is not ideal to play football in India, but we can discuss with FIFA since we have the infrastructure ready. I think we may also bid for the 2023 Asian Cup.

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