Making India A Football Nation

OutlookIndia

India's football odyssey: From grassroots to global glory, the Blue Tigers soar! Fueled by relentless talent development and surging participation, India aspires to become a football powerhouse. The Olympic dream gleams on the horizon!  0:00 - Time to kickoff!  0:42 - Rebuilding our legacy 1:33 - Solidifying our foundation  2:30 - Nurturing talent 3:09 - Gaining global recognition  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Outlookindia/videos/686980596703464/  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/CzEF_vvPggI/ X/Twitter: https://twitter.com/Outlookindia/status/1719336497219051908  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7125100703437471744  #KadamBadhaoIndia #AsianGames2023 #RelianceFoundation #AsianGames #Football #FIFA #FootballInIndia #SunilChhetri #Exide #ExideCare #Outlookindia #IndiaMovesOnExide #Olympics #Sports #SportsInIndia #IndianSports #Parisolympics #Olympics #SportsAuthorityOfIndia #MinistryOfSports

Transcript

00:00 India, as a footballing force, a story waiting to be written.

00:07 Since almost making it to the World Cup in 1950, to finding our feet and kicking it off,

00:13 India has built a robust, thriving ecosystem for football.

00:18 This is how the Blue Tigers are getting closer to the dream.

00:44 The FIFA rankings are a metric, India has come a long way from being 143 to dipping

00:50 to 171 and coming back strongly into the double digits since 2014.

00:56 And the best part?

00:59 The Indian footballers, except for Sunil Chetri and a few, Baichung Bhute and a few, but today

01:03 we can give you, you pick up a child and you ask him, he'll give you at least two or three

01:06 names, which is a big achievement of Indian footballers.

01:09 Look at Gurpreet Singh today, look at Brandon Fernandes, look at Sandesh, look at our defence,

01:13 look at all these players, look at Ashik Kurien, like all the players from where to where,

01:17 like they are putting in the hard work and academy children today, look at our children,

01:21 they know these names.

01:23 There's been a spate of titles at the SAFF Championships with three trophies, one just

01:27 this year.

01:29 It's another testimony to Indian football fortifying its grassroots.

01:36 We need to work in the grassroots to grow the game, to involve more participation, irrespective

01:42 of gender, irrespective of background.

01:46 But being in the Olympics means being in the top 16 under 23 teams in the world.

01:52 And the AIFF's talent building mission is fueling this plan.

01:56 Blue Cubs, a first of its kind program in India, which will cover all aspects of grassroots,

02:04 NGOs, tribal areas, villages, schools, whether we have to work with an academy.

02:11 It has got a 360 degree elements into it.

02:16 We start with the ages of three, four, when we have players which are coming in our setup.

02:20 So when you start from that age, introducing a kid into the sport, the chances are very

02:25 high in terms of producing a proficient player.

02:29 We have the talent, but to get to the top, India's corporates too are playing their

02:34 part.

02:35 It's a fully funded scholarship, no cost to the parents whatsoever.

02:41 Nutrition is our only lens for scouting.

02:42 That's your football coaches, got a performance department.

02:46 We used to eat whatever we could get.

02:52 So today, the way nutrition says, the player will eat the same way.

03:00 When I used to play in TFA, we used to get Rs. 250 a month.

03:04 ISL clubs which are offering salaries right now are touching crores.

03:07 So it's definitely a good career option for any child.

03:11 See that in the light of India having hosted two major FIFA events in the past six years,

03:17 and the audacious dream begins to take shape.

03:21 We hosted two World Cups under 17, both boys and girls.

03:29 That was hugely successful events.

03:32 That way, we have demonstrated our capability in organizing big events.

03:38 And that's how we have succeeded in gaining the belief and trust of the global football

03:43 community.

03:47 When the time comes to host and play football in the Olympics, India will want to be more

03:52 than just an underdog.

03:55 We need all hands on deck.

03:59 The more that people can step up and invest not just resources, but time, intent, the

04:04 better the sport will be for them.

04:05 [Music]

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