Praful Patel To Set up FIFA Office: All India Football Federation (AIFF) President Praful Patel revealed that he is looking to set up a regional FIFA Office in New Delhi.
Praful Patel was elected to FIFA Council by securing 38 out of the 46 votes in the Asian Football Confederations (AFC) Congress held at Kuala Lumpur. In an interview after the event, he said, “This signifies India’s place in world football. This will give us more voice. We would look to get more tournaments, international friendlies, exposure for our kids.”
Praful Patel will use his position as FIFA Council Member to set up a FIFA Office in India. In an interview to Sportstar, he said, “My agenda is to further enhance India’s position in world affairs, some advantages flowing back because of my presence.”
He further added, “I cannot dictate whether there can be a FIFA office in Delhi. But there is a regional system. There used to be a regional office for South Asia here, and now it’s a little more expanded. Given the size of India and the subcontinent, we should look for something more substantial. I will be pushing for it.”
India was recently awarded the hosting rights of 2020 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup. India also played host to the FIFA U17 World Cup 2017 which turned out to be a huge success and also gave the game a strong push.
