AIFF Media Team

NEW DELHI: The All India Football Federation’s Grassroots Committee meeting was held over video conferencing on Friday, July 7th, 2023, under the chairmanship of Mr Mulrajsinh Chudasama.

 In attendance were Deputy Chairperson Mr M Satyanarayan and other committee members, which included Mr Naresh Khanna (Himachal Pradesh), Mr Ratan Kumar Singh (Manipur), Mr Bhagwan Singh Negi (Delhi), Mr Asgar Hussain (Bihar), Mr Sandeep Desai (Gujarat), Mr Kiyeka S Sumi (Nagaland), Mr Hmingthansanga (Mizoram), and Mr Aleixo Francisco da Costa (Goa) and members of the AIFF Technical Department.

The Blue Cubs Leaders Course, a new online football course for grassroots enthusiasts was presented in the meeting. The programme will be launched on July 15, 2023, in nine different languages in the first phase on a pan-India level. 

Mr Satyanarayan introduced the inaugural blueprint for the AIFF Blue Cubs Football Schools, a ground-breaking and accredited model of football education supervised by the AIFF. This unique initiative enables interested entities that meet specific criteria to join and offer football coaching in their respective areas.

As per the model, the AIFF takes on the responsibility of providing crucial technical support, coach education, and age-appropriate curricula to these affiliated entities. Additionally, each participating location will receive a generous provision of 100 footballs branded with the Blue Cubs logo, fostering a cohesive identity throughout the programme.

Chairperson Mr Chudasama said, "We have moved fast in the grassroots arena in recent months. The Blue Cubs logo and operating manual were launched. We also celebrated the first AIFF Grassroots Day. Now we present to you a great initiative in the shape of Blue Cubs Football Schools, which has already been approved by the Executive Committee in its meeting earlier this week. I would like to thank all our AIFF members in the Football House, the Grassroots Committee and also the Technical Committee for doing a wonderful job.”