New AIFF management will work with Arsene Wenger as they await for a bright footballing future in India
The Apex body of Indian football on Saturday announced their new strategic Road map to bloom the sport in India. Despite having enough talent there have been some issues that were not addressed but the new AIFF management will not leave any stone unturned anymore.
AIFF launches new Strategic Roadmap for Indian Football
See the full Roadmap here 👉 https://t.co/RBmsUJrRg1#IndianFootball ⚽ pic.twitter.com/djYgozd4BW
— Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) January 7, 2023
As they revealed during a press conference, Indian football’s transition will begin from now for the next 25 years until 2047. During this time, a complete overhaul of the system will be seen from the grassroot levels alongside FIFA’s Cheif of Global Football Development Arsene Wenger.
India will aim to be among the Top 10 Asian Men’s football team and Top 8 Asian Women’s team accompanied by a revenue boost of 500%. AIFF President Kalyan Chaubey also revealed that they held meetings with the developmental team of FIFA and Wenger’s team will be in India to work for the national grassroots programme.
The Structural overhaul will start as soon as next month and it will focus on increasing the talent pool and generating numbers on a larger level. The constitution of this road map was inevitable especially after the dismissal of the previous committee led by Praful Patel.
It became even more obvious after India stood away from hosting the 2027 AFC Asian Cup. The current managing committee understands the fact that India should take part in major competitions as a high-profile and well-qualified side. They don’t want to organised events half-heatedly and earn qualification for being hosts.
So the new policies clearly means that hosting U-17 Men’s and Women’s World cup was an absolute failure as it did not yield a revolutionary change in football as it was expected.
Bettering the Indian team across All age groups
On top of the AIFF amendment list is a plan to ideate the shape and design of the national team across all age groups. A national playing philosophy as foreseen by the AIFF will be the base of coaching at the younger levels. The process of selection as well as the coaching manuals through a bottom-to-up system.
Bringing Women Footballers at the same level as Men
Bringing forth equal opportunities for Women’s football in India is another key milestone on the road map. AIFF’s General Secretary Dr. Shaji Prabhakaran confirmed that a separate department to look after the Women’s game will be constituted. The Domestic league structure will be divided into 4 divisions with the top tier containing 10 teams while the 2nd tier will have 8 teams by 2026.“Be it competitions or any development initiatives, the women’s game will get equal treatment. We will be coming up with a minimum wage for women footballers,” – said Prabhakaran
Aiding the State Associations
Evolution of the state associations into smaller organisations created under the consortium of AIFF may be the one area where the entire road map rests.The AIFF had a purpose of building capacity inside these organisations over the last 75 years which could not become a success, however the major component of the plan is to ‘handhold’ these organisations.
Prabhakaran emphasized on the importance of increasing the range of these organisations, as well as providing them with the necessary financial support and motivation. He further stated that after providing the support, AIFF will work to develop a “robust evaluation process” for judging the performance of these State FAs.
Anticipating a commercial bloom through Football
All the objectives of 2047’s road map are dependent on the organisation’s marketing strategies with their partners and how it will play out when the deal between AIFF and Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL) comes to an end. The AIFF disclosed that 61% of its current revenue comes from marketing partners, with a total revenue of Rs 80 crore.
The organisation intends to boost its revenue by 500% by 2026. Its strategy includes plans to strengthen its brand, establish a new ‘Business and marketing’ division within the organisation, and increase the value of existing holdings.
This objective is very reliant on their advertising partners and how much real estate the committee is willing to give up and at what price. The State Associations’ performances and the AIFF’s expectations for commercial success provide its most short-term obstacles.
