By Joseph Solomon,

AIFF Media Team

NEW DELHI: The two day FIFA – State Development Workshop which commenced in New Delhi on December 10, 2015 as part of the AIFF Pilot Project to develop State Associations proved to be an immense learning experience for the representatives of six State Associations that lie under the AIFF Pilot Project.

As the AIFF Pilot Project lays a detailed roadmap for the State Associations to surge their respective Footballing growth, the Workshop had intense sessions ranging from marketing to technical aspects of the game, aimed to give the State Associations a pathway to their vision for football.

Talking exclusively to www.the-aiff.com, Henry Menzes, CEO of the Western India Football Association (WIFA) dubbed the Workshop as “best ever in terms of the knowledge transferred to the attendees”

“The experts from the FIFA Delegation taught us a lot of things from the technicalities of the game to governance and other strategies of marketing. All in all it was a wonderful experience and kudos to the AIFF for helping us evolve in our quest for excellence”

“We have been made to understand that the State Associations are accountable for the development of Indian Football as a whole. With the Director of Marketing and Technical Officer it will create a solid base for the growth of State Associations”, he added.

Not only that, the six member FIFA delegation met separately, one by one, with the six State Associations and helped them to zero down on the pathway to their vision for Football.

Lalnghinglova Hmar, Secretary of the Mizoram Football Association expressed that, “the Workshop has been very helpful in understanding the development of the sport”

“We thank the AIFF for conducting such informative Programmes as this not only help us in our quest to be a better State Football Association, but also helps Indian Football as a whole grow”

“Mizoram is a Football crazy state and through the implementation of the AIFF Pilot Project and courtesy of Workshops such as these, we aim to harness the best out of it”, he added.

Meanwhile, Gautam Ghosh, Technical Officer of the Indian Football Association, Kolkata explained the technical side of the Workshop.

“It is imperative for the State Associations to develop in order for Indian Football to grow. And for that the State Associations need to concentrate on their respective Grassroots Football”

“The Workshop taught us how to implement certain strategies in order to harness the Football of our respective states and we are looking forward to implement them”, Ghosh informed.