Here’s why the AIFF’s recent announcements are huge for Indian football

The coach of the Indian Under-17 World Cup team Luis Norton de Matos, the tournament director Javier Ceppi and the president of the All India Football Federation Praful Patel jointly addressed the media at a press conference in New Delhi on Tuesday.

A few major announcements were discussed at the gathering including a confirmation that India had formally bid for the 2019 Under-20 World Cup. A Centre of Excellence to be built by the end of 2018 was also announced.

Luis Norton de Matos will also continue as coach in charge of the Under-17 squad, who will remain as an unit, announced Patel. The Field looks at each of these announcements in greater detail.

Bid for the Under-20 World Cup

When it was reported earlier that India had bid for the U-20 World Cup previously, it came as no surprise. While the Local Organising Committee of the U-17 World Cup has faced numerous problems, it has managed to get the six venues ready in time for the tournament starting October 6. If India’s bid for 2019 is successful, the organising committee should face no problem at all, given that a majority of the venues for that World Cup should coincide with 2017’s.

Infrastructure off the field may be ready but the small matter of Fifa awarding the World Cup to India remains. The Fifa Executive Committee will meet in Kolkata at the fag end of the U-17 World Cup in a clear indication that world football’s governing body and the AIFF are trying to woo each other. But member associations may not take too kindly to Asia hosting the World Cup for a second consecutive time, given that South Korea have already hosted this year’s edition.

On the pitch, it promises more exposure for more members of this Under-17 squad who, having defeated India Under-19 3-1 earlier this year, have clearly established themselves as one of the strongest age-group sides in the country. As this team approaches senior levels of football, two World Cup experiences are most definitely handy.

World Cup team to be kept together post competition

The oldest members of this squad have been together for almost three years and have played close to 100 matches. They are expected to play in the I-League as part of their training and exposure post the World Cup.

Having played a lot of international opponents, perhaps it is time for them to challenge either tougher or older opponents with more experience. The Arrows project, which ran for three years, was highly successful in producing a platform on which future national team players could express themselves.

While the World Cup may or may not yield the desirable results, the I-League will be a first taste of competitive match experience at the senior-most level for most members of this team. It will surely be a test, one which de Matos will relish.

Luis Norton de Matos to continue as coach

The Portuguese has been headed a contract extension as head coach of this squad after the World Cup to continue their development.

One suspects that this is primarily because all stakeholders are satisfied with a lack of controversy in De Matos’s reign. The AIFF supremo also confirmed as much when he said the “happiness of the players” was taken into account while arriving at this decision.

The Portuguese also has a different philosophy as compared to his predecessor, choosing to work with his team for longer periods on the training ground rather than take his team on numerous tours, with little to no rest in between.

Centre of Excellence to be opened

De Matos cited the example of Mexico where he said the Under-14, Under-15 and Under-16 teams were all following the same system of playing at one location.

Costing upwards of Rs 100 crore, the Centre of Excellence will not come cheap and will most definitely require private intervention. But the real rewards are a readymade base equipped with state-of-the-art facilities for all of India’s teams – whether men, women or youth – to train at prior to important tournaments.

With the AIFF facing problems from local sports authorities in recent times regarding allocation of grounds and rental costs, this is a welcome move which will avoid any last-minute organisation hassles and provide a base to all Indian teams at a fraction of the usual expenditure involved.