AIFF Media Team NEW DELHI: All India Football Federation’s Strategic Plan was officially launched by Mr. Jerome Valcke, Secretary General, FIFA and Mr. Praful Patel, President, All India Football Federation in the Capital on Wednesday (October 15). The Plan which was presented to Clubs besides Executive Committee Members and partners, has laid down the road map for AIFF to work towards the development of the ‘Beautiful Game’ in the Country. Mr. Valcke also mentioned that India stays the “priority country” for FIFA. “India is a priority country for FIFA in Asia in terms of football development. We are investing a lot in this country because we believe in its huge potential. It’s a fast growing economy with over1.2 billion people. There’s definitely space for other sports than cricket.” Mr. Patel referred to the Strategic Plan as the “process which would define AIFF’s philosophy.” “We are one of the most structured Sports Federation in the Country. In such a situation, the need of the hour was to document a work plan for AIFF to make optimal utilization of resources and achieve AIFF's vision and mission,” Mr. Patel told www.the-aiff.com. AIFF General Secretary Mr. Kushal Das reiterated AIFF’s seriousness and commitment to develop the sport in India. “We always need to have a rudder guiding us. After the ‘Lakshya’ was put in place our next priority was to prepare the overall Strategic Plan which will guide and help us achieve our goals in the next 4 years. We have identified 13 clearly defined and time bound goals and objectives which we need to target till 2017,” he stated. “We have set up detailed operational plans and budgets to ensure we have a sustainable and implementable plan. Key performance indicators along with responsibilities have been set up and we will evaluate and monitor our performance regularly,” he added. The Strategic Plan lays huge emphasis on Grassroots, Youth Development and Coach Education and has been created after detailed consultation with various stake holders.