Bharti Enterprises and the All India Football Federation (AIFF), the official governing body in India for football, today announced that they have signed an MoU to create a comprehensive programme for the development & globalisation of Indian football.
AIFF and Bharti will build a comprehensive National Football Development Program (NFDP) and work together for the development of Indian football. This program is aimed at delivering the vision of taking India to the FIFA World Cup while building a powerful sporting & football culture in India. AIFF, in partnership with Bharti, will also design and build a world-class talent development programme.
Mr. Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi, Hon'ble Minister of I&B and Parliamentary Affairs & President, AIFF said "In India, football has had a rich history. The football academy will build young talent providing them with the best the world has to offer. We are pleased that a company like Bharti has stepped forward to partner India in the development of football. AIFF remains committed to partner Bharti and make India a football superpower."
Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Sunil Bharti Mittal, Chairman & Group CEO, Bharti Enterprises said "Football is the world's most popular sport. It unites the world. Our vision is to develop a rich football and sporting culture in India. We are delighted to be partnering AIFF towards taking Indian football to international standards. We believe that the initiatives by Bharti and AIFF will make the Indian football team the pride of Asia and the world. To achieve this vision, we will also look at partnering leading international football institutions like Manchester United and IMG."
Bharti will establish and govern a world-class football academy, which will be called the 'Bharti-AIFF Academy'. The Academy, which will be built on the lines of Club Academies in Western Europe, will be a residential cum educational academy. It will select and nurture talent in different age groups with the help of experts from around the world and will provide the talent with exposure to global best practices and training techniques. Bharti plans to create a partner ecosystem, which will include significant international sporting leaders, towards achieving these objectives.
As a first and immediate step, Bharti also announced a significant support for the development of the Indian Under-16 football team in its endeavour to qualify for the Under-17 football world cup finals. The team has reached the final qualifying round (from Asia) of the competition and will receive the best coaching and support. |
