The Annual General Body meeting of the All India Football Federation (AIFF) was held at the AIFF Headquarters, Football House in New Delhi on Monday.
The President of the All India Football Federation Praful Patel chaired the meeting in the presence of AIFF General Secretary Kushal Das, Vice-Presidents, Subrata Dutta, Ankur Datta, AR Khaleel and Venod Sharma.
The Executive Committee members of the AIFF and members from all the Member State Associations (except Arunachal Pradesh) and other stakeholders were also present as was Dr. Shaji Prabhakaran, FIFA Regional Developmental Officer for South and Central Asia; representatives from AIFF’s Marketing partners and invitees from sponsors.
In his address, Patel stressed on laying a solid foundation which would take Indian Football to the next level. “We need to have a comprehensive Youth Development Programme which would guide us in the right direction,” he said.
“The Regional and the Elite Academies are going as per schedule,” he added. “Coach Education stays an integral part of the Curriculum.”
“2011 was an eventful year for Indian football. Besides India winning the SAFF Championship, the U16 boys made it to the final phase of the AFC U16 in Tashkent, which is commendable indeed. I also congratulate the U13 girls for winning the AFC U13 Football Tournament in Colombo recently,” Mr. Patel opined.
Kushal Das announced that a new U19/20 National Level tournament would be held every season from now on.
Dr. Prabhakaran made a presentation titled ‘Performance’ which stressed on Professional Football Management.
A minute’s silence was also observed prior to the start of the meeting in memory of former Internationals and Office administrators Sailendra Nath Manna, K.V. Varadraj, A.S. Firoze, M.A. Sattar, Bobby Hamilton, Arjun Bikram Shah and Ejaz Hussain, all of whom passed away.
(AIFF Press Release)