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FIFA Delegation led by Valcke arrives in New Delhi

FIFA Delegation led by Valcke arrives in New Delhi

A high-profile FIFA Delegation led by General Secretary Jérôme Valcke and the Director of Member Associations & Development Thierry Regenass has arrived in the Indian capital on Tuesday evening.

Valcke and his colleagues will be having various meetings and programmes during their four-day visit to New Delhi. The FIFA representatives are scheduled to meet India’s Sports Minister Ajay Maken and All India Football Federation (AIFF) President Praful Patel in the coming days.

Further the FIFA representatives will officially inaugurate the FIFA Development Office in New Delhi and take part in a FIFA Seminar for General Secretaries and Technical Directors of the SAFF Region besides attending the 3rd IFA Roundtable 2012 at ‘The Oberoi Hotel’ in Gurgaon.

The FIFA delegation has various topics on their agenda including the progress of the ‘Win in India with India’ initiative, the ‘Goal’ project, the ‘Financial Assistance Programme’, the ‘PERFORMANCE Programme’ and various educational schemes.

Valcke’s visit to India is other sign of FIFA’s increasing interest in the country in the last few decade and a follow up to FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter’s visit in March 2012 [+ read more].

Meanwhile, the FIFA Seminar for General Secretaries and Technical Directors kicked-off on Tuesday morning with an opening speech by Asian Football Confederation (AFC) General Secretary Dato Alex Soosay.

Soosay congratulated the Indian team on winning the 2012 Nehru Cup [+ read more] and he highlighted the importance of the FIFA Seminar.

“The game has undergone so many changes since the AFC had its first meeting of the General Secretaries in the 90s. Club football forms the nucleus of development,” Soosay told in his speech.