Shyam Thapa. (TOI Photo)

CHENNAI: Two days after India coach Stephen Constantine sounded the alarm bell about the future of the India Under-17 boys, the All India Football Federation (AIFF)'s technical committee, headed by Shyam Thapa , will meet on Tuesday to discuss the roadmap of the teenage footballers. It was learnt that AIFF is mulling frequent trips to European nations for the team apart from monitoring the progress of the youngsters regularly. The parent body is also looking at the China model where the nation's Under-20 team is all set to play in the German fourth-tier league as part of a five-year agreement between the nations to develop Chinese football.

A top AIFF official confirmed that the intention is to keep the boys together in a group so that they continue their development as well as get good playing time.

"These boys are unknown to us and I am sure that many I-League and ISL clubs will be interested in them once they see their talent. We are not going to object if they get selected in some clubs. But our primary motive will be to ensure that our efforts to prepare them for the Under-17 World Cup don't go waste.

"We need to groom these players for the bigger challenges ahead and will keep on monitoring their progress. Having travelled all over the world to prepare for U-17 World Cup, these boys have already developed a perspective. So, if we can make them play in European leagues, their knowledge and skillset will improve further. For that, we are looking at studying the China model," the official told TOI on Sunday.

