Grassroots Football in India

7/30/2019 Grassroots Football in India

1/60

ndorsed by Supported by

Grassroots Football

in India

A FICCI - LIBERO SPORTS INDIA REPORT

August 2013


2/60


3/60

TITLE

Grassroots Football in India

AUTHORS

Libero Sports India Pvt. Ltd. & Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI)

MONTH/YEAR OF PUBLICATION

August 2013

COPYRIGHT

No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form by photo, print, microlm or any other means

without the written permission of Libero Sports India Pvt. Ltd. and FICCI.

DISCLAIMER

The information and opinions contained in this document have been compiled and arrived at from

sources believed to be reliable, but no representation or warranty expressed is made to their accuracy,

completeness or correctness. This document if for information purposes only. The information contained

in this document is published for the assistance of the recipient but is not to be relied upon as

authoritative or taken in substitution for the exercise of judgment by any recipient. This document is not

intended to be a substitute for professional, technical or legal advice. All opinions expressed in thisdocument are subject to change without notice. Neither Libero Sports India Pvt. Ltd. nor FICCI or any other

legal entities in the group to which it belongs, accept any liability whatsoever for any direct or

consequential loss howsoever arising from any use of this document or its contents or otherwise arising in

connection herewith.

Cover image courtesy: AIFF Media


4/60


5/60

CONTENTS

Foreword ...................................................................................... i

Preface ............. ............. ............. ............. ............. ............ ......... iii

Introduction ............. ............. ............. ............. ............. ............ ......... 1

International Grassroots ............. ............. ............. ............. ............. ............ ......... 5

Japan ............. ............. ............. ............. ............. ............ ......... 6

Australia ....... ............. ............ ............. ............. ............. ............. .. 8

United States ............. ............. ............. ............. ............. ............ ......... 10

Africa ............. ............. ............. ............. ............. ............ ......... 13

Grassroots football in India ............. ............. ............. ............. ............. ............ ......... 14

National Federation ............. ............. ............. ............. ............. ............ ......... 16

State Association ............. ............. ............. ............. ............. ............ ......... 23

Schools ............. ............. ............. ............. ............. ............ ......... 26

Corporate ............. ............. ............. ............. ............. ............ ......... 29

NGO ............. ............. ............. ............. ............. ............ ......... 32

Private Entities ............. ............. ............. ............. ............. ............ ......... 35

Conscient Football ............. ............. ............. ............. ............. ............ ......... 40

Conclusion ...................................................................................... 44


6/60


7/60

As the representative of Indian Sports Sector, we at FICCI connect with stakeholders nationally

and internationally. It is overwhelming and encouraging for us to see Indian sports generate so

much interest especially in football. After listening to the experiences, ideas and concerns of

sports fraternity across the globe and working with them, we firmly believe only grassrootssports promotion can help us raise the standard of sports in the country.

This document with a focus on football brings to the fore innumerable grassroots sports

development initiatives that are not just elevating level of sports in the country but are also

shaping up the lives of youth because the essence of sports is not just in competitive play but

also in imparting important life skills, holistic human development and over all well being.

Therefore it is absolutely logical to release this publication on the occasion of National Sports

Day of India. As it captures the real essence of sporting excellence which lies in grassroots and

to reinforce the role played by sports in meeting of national goals because participation in

games and sports invariably ensures good health, fitness and efficient work force which means

reduced expenditure on health for the individuals and families and growth and development ofthe nation.

At the end we would also like to express our gratitude to Asian Football Development Project

which has successfully used football for social development and has inspired us to put up this

publication. Also, all other stakeholders who have been documented in this publication

especially All India Football Federation (AIFF) team who under the leadership of Mr. Kushal Das,

General Secretary, AIFF shared important information with us.

We are hopeful that this report will inspire other sports also to adapt these models and promote

sports at the grassroots. Let us communicate, connect and collaborate to join this journey to

catalyze change in Indias sport landscape and realize our true potential in sports.

We are after all The Rising Billion!

Foreword

Rajpal Singh

Director and Head, Sports & Youth AairsFICCI

i


8/60


9/60

I firmly believe that there are multiple aspects that we need to work on to significantly improve

the state of football in India. Furthermore, this can only be achieved through a collective and

streamlined effort from all the stakeholders involved in football, who are working towards a

common vision. The one thing that is common in all football powerhouses around the world istheir strong grassroots football. To improve football in India, we must start at the bottom of the

football pyramid, at the grassroots level.

This report highlights what grassroots football is, what impact it can have on the overall

development of the game and what stakeholders are present in the Indian market. We can see

the countries which have done well in the recent past, and trace their successes to their

development initiatives at the grassroots level. We can also see the social benefits a game like

football can have on society.

We must understand the role and importance of stakeholders present, from private companies

to the national federation, and how they must work towards a common goal.

With a determination stronger than ever to host the 2017 FIFA Under-17 World Cup, and a

bonafide project in place to give India the best chance of qualifying for the FIFA World Cup

2022, I have never before seen nor felt such excitement across the Indian footballing

landscape.

I hope that by the time you finish reading this knowledge paper, you will not only have learned

about a number of initiatives undertaken by various stakeholders in the field of grassroots

football in India, but have also gained an appreciation and understanding of what grassroots

football actually is, and the crucial role it plays in taking Indian football forward.

Preface

Sukhvinder Singh

Managing Director

Libero Sports India Pvt. Ltd.

iii


10/60


11/60

Denition of Grassroots Football

According to the Oxford dictionary the term grassroots is dened as, The most basic level of an activityor organization. It is also dened as Fundamental.

Grassroots football is an often used and globally recognized term which has dierent denitionsaccording to key industry stakeholders.

FIFA, the international governing body of association football denes grassroots football as, To allowfootball to be discovered by as many people as possible.

According to the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), All football which is non-professionaland non-elite is dened as grassroots. All childrens football is grassroots.

FIFA President Sepp Blatter says, Grassroots is all about the children, they are footballs future.

Concept

The key concept of grassroots football is to bring together as many people as possible through the sportand grassroots programmes tend to advocate exchanges and sharing human values which promote thepleasure of playing the beautiful game.

For some people, grassroots football is a focus for recreational activities, while for others it is the organisedpractice of the sport, with training and matches, within a dened framework. The essential elements ofgrassroots football are relationships, team spirit and fun.

One of the approaches adopted by FIFA with regards to grassroots football is to Develop the Game whichis manifested in the main objective of FIFAs grassroots football programme: to allow football to bediscovered by as many people as possible. This is based on the assumption that the best way of attractingnew players to the sport is to give them access to football in their own environment irrespective of age,sex, physical condition, religion or ethnic origin.

Grassroots football has great value as avehicle for education, sporting andsocial development.

Salman Al Khalifa | President, AFC

1

Grassroots football is football foreveryone, by everyone, everywhere

Joseph S. Blatter | President, FIFA

INTRODUCTION


12/60

Importance of Grassroots Football Programmes

Grassroots Football Development Programmes are dened as programmes run with the aim ofencouraging people to play the game of football. They are undertaken at the grassroots level, meaningthat people of all abilities are included. Their primary objective is developing the sport itself throughencouraging participation and enjoyment of the beautiful game.

Grassroots programmes; football programmes in schools, clubs and communities form the foundation

from which players of the future emerge.

Grassroots programmes are vital to engaging and retaining people in the sport as players, coaches,

referees, administrators and volunteers.

Grassroots programmes are where the core values which football elicits are formed, particularly among

youth

Football is based on the grassroots, thetop professional level is just the tip of theiceberg The strength of football lies in itsgrassroots.

Michel Platini | President, UEFA

Figure 1: The grassroots football structure

At the base of the football pyramid,grassroots football benets all levelsof the game.

Andy Roxburg | Technical Director, UEFA

2


13/60

Structure

Represented in the gure below is the football pyramid dened by UEFA. To stress on the importance ofgrassroots football development, UEFA Technical Director Andy Roxburgh said, "Football is not a sport forthe elite. It is available for everyone, irrespective of size, shape, colour or faith. It is a real sportingdemocracy which oers educational values, health benets, social opportunities and sporting worth.

The game is a wonderful vehicle for personal and sporting development.

UEFAs football consultant Robin Russell speaking at AFC grassroots workshop highlighted theimportance of grassroots football.

It provides a basis of support or increases the pool from which to select international players for

inter national team success. The more players, the more potential income and the more attraction ofsponsors. As for the clubs, research shows that kids participation is highest in countries with a highnumber of teams per club. So, the more players they have, the more potential income they can make, andthe more teams there are, the better the identity and stability. More life-long players mean more potentialvolunteers to help in the grassroots cause.

As for the players, they get to have fun and build self-esteem, make friends and learn new skills, just toname a few of the advantages of grassroots football. Grassroots also helps schools by helping buildchildrens literacy, numeracy and IT skills. It helps bolster school identity and is a simple way to meetphysical education requirements for boys and girls. How about the advantages for the stategovernment? We rarely ask this question, but grassroots denitely helps reduce crime at key times inchildrens life and also works in bringing down crime in key locations. It helps reduces child obesity as wellas smoking and alcohol problems.

Grassroots helps promote the importance of health andtherefore helps reduce the governments health costs. It alsopromotes social cohesion and integrates ethnic groups.

Robin Russell | UEFA Grassroots Consultant

Figure 2: The UEFA Grassroots Football Pyramid

3


14/60

AFC Grassroots Year

The Asian Football Confederation has designated 2013 as the AFC

Grassroots Year, aptly themed Lets Play!

The confederation is encouraging Member Associations to

organise activities to promote and emphasise that football is

accessible and socially benecial to everyone and that a strong

foundation will allow players to progress to the elite level.

AFC President Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa said, The recognition and celebration of grassroots

football is a special initiative of AFC because it is our responsibility to support and encourage this crucial

element of the game in each of our Member Associations. Grassroots football has great value as a

vehicle for education, sporting and social development.

Without grassroots football, professional football in Asia would be in jeopardy. Grassroots football

provides our professional game with its players, coaches, referees and administrators and, in recent years,

there has been a paradigm shift in which this aspect is being approached. The benets accruing from

investment in grassroots football are immense education, health, social and sporting. As thegoverning body of Asian football, AFC fully recognises the big impact grassroots football has on the soci-

ety at large and the social values the game can help in inculcating among youth impressionable minds.

Figure 3: The Grassroots Football Universe

4


15/60

The success of the National Team in a country is often cited as the key driving force to grow football yet this

is rarely the case if the international success occurs without bedrock of grassroots participation.

For example, Greece won the 2004 European Championships but this had little subsequent eect on the

dwindling participation and interest in domestic football in the Mediterranean country. Similarly, post

Italys 2006 FIFA World Cup victory, the country continues to experience a decrease in football

participation, attendance and development of Italian born players playing top level Italian football.

Conversely, Holland has won only one Senior International Tournament (in 1988) but has one of the high-

est levels of per capita football participation and interest in Europe.

There is sucient evidence to believe that the population that plays football is also the population that

consumes football in other ways through TV, internet, attendance at live matches, etc.

In recent times, signicant advances in participation and the size of the football market have been seen in

the USA, Germany, Australia, South Africa, Ukraine and Japan. In these countries one can see the increase

in participation in football, has driven a rise in TV audiences and a subsequent rise in the value of TV rightsand sponsorship.

The evidence is that the development of Grassroots Football is greatly enhanced by the catalysts listed

below. It should be noted that virtually every one of the 8 identied catalysts presents considerable

opportunities to attract commercial sponsorship and Corporate Social Responsibility budgets.

1. A Strategic National Football Development Plan

2. Professional clubs active role in the community

3. Encouraging female participation

4. Football camps & franchises organised by clubs, FAs and commercially

5. School Football

6. Developing the mini game for under 11s

7. Developing multi team amateur clubs

8. Coach & volunteer education

The development of Grassroots Football is the key driver to increasing the value of a countrys footballmarket as measured by TV viewership, Sponsorship, Advertising spend, attendances at Professional

games etc.

Grassroots Football requires proactive engagement and the 8 most commonly successful proactive

catalysts are shown above. Such catalysts are also prime properties for sponsorship.

Grassroots Football Development is assisted by buoyant economic conditions.

A few examples of countries which have produced signicant results to the growth of their respective

football industries through strong grassroots programming are highlighted in the next section.

5

INTERNATIONAL GRASSROOTS


16/606

Origins

In 1988, national interest in Japan for football was virtually non-existent. Japan had never qualied for an

Asian Cup or FIFA World Cup. However, it was in 1993 when the J League was formed which changed the

face of Japanese football and it was in the same year when Japan bid for the 2002 FIFA World Cup.

Background

The rst step the Japanese Football Association (JFA) took was to make grassroots football a top priority.

The association ploughed resources into youth academies, coaching and scouting. A network was set up

across Japan and local schools became involved in promoting the game and training youth. Industry also

played a role in this revolution as many corporates such as, Nestle Japan, set up national football training

programmes. The entire eort, led by the JFA, was a concerted one with all stakeholders holding onto

similar visions for the future of football in the country.

To inculcate a culture of football within Japan other unique initiatives were implemented. There was afootball based anime character by the name of Captain Tsubasa which helped fuel a love for the game

among youth. The programme is noted for inspiring now household names such as Hidetoshi Nakata,

Alessandro Del Piero, Fernando Torres, Zinedine Zidane and Lionel Messi, amongst many others.

The inuence of this show on the uptake of the sport in young individuals in Japan cannot be

overestimated. It both aected and reected the growing popularity of the sport in the country.

Captain Tsubasa - Japans cultural gamechanger

The J League

The J League, Japans domestic professional league,

launched in 1993 relied on big names such as Zico and

Gary Linekar to create a buzz.

Over the years though, the highly popular league has

been able to produce home grown talent through its

Academies and even export many of these players to

generate revenue. The impact the J League has had on

placing the country on the global football map cannot be

overlooked as Japanese teams have won the Asian

Champions League three times since the leagues

inception and the mens national team continues to excel

at international tournaments.

Emphasis on Youth Development

From the outset, the J League made it clear that

youth development was a priority as all member clubs

were made to eld a senior team, reserve team, an

Under-18 team, an Under-15 team and school teams.

In addition, JFA training centres, modelled on the

French system, were set up throughout the country

where the most promising players could be scouted

at a young age and funnelled through a system with

specialist youth coaches and state of the art training

facilities.

JAPAN


17/60

Results

The Under-16 national side has twice been crowned Asian Champions while the Under-19 side made the

nal of the 1999 FIFA World Youth Cup. Japan also became the rst country to qualify for the 2014 FIFA

World Cup.

Japanese club sides have also tasted success in international competition with Urawa Reds (in 2007) and

Gamba Osaka (in 2008) both being crowned Asian champions whilst last year Kashiwa Reysol made the

seminals of the FIFA Club World Cup.

The senior side defeated Australia in Qatar last year to become Asian Champions for a record fourth time.

The Japan Football Association Declaration, 2005

7


18/60

Origins

In 2004 the governing body of football in Australia, the Australian Soccer Association changed its name tothe Football Federation of Australia (FFA). The FFA created the A-League, a new eight-team competition torevitalise soccer in Australia, to replace the existing National Soccer League(NSL). In 2008 a national youthleague was set up in conjunction with the A-League in order to continue to breed young Australian talentinto the league as well as into the Australian national team and its aliates such as the under 17, under 20and under 23 teams.

Background

Australia is considered a country which has a strong grassroots football culture and the numbers supportthis. Participation in football has experienced signicant growth between 2001 and 2010, from 551,300participants to 843,900. This makes football the physical activity with the third highest increase among thetop 10 physical activities, after aerobics/tness and running.

Between the period of 2001 to 2009, there was a 52% increase in the number of people playing outdoorfootball, the number of 514 year olds playing the game grew by 58% and for over 15 years of age thenumber grew by 42%. In fact,the biggest challenge for football participation in Australia is not how toencourage it, but how to meet the demand.

On the professional scene, there have also been two signicant developments. First, in 2005 the FootballFederation Australia launched a new domestic national soccer competition called the Hyundai A-League.Second, the Asian Champions League started to grow at a rapid rate. Industry analysis indicates that in thelong-term (10 years minimum) the Asian Champions League may rival the European Champions League,the largest club tournament in the world, and revenue may be boosted signicantly. The high-prolesporting bodies in other sports such as AFL, could aim to follow this trend and establish the competition

on an international stage.

8

Figure 4: Sports Participation in Australia by numbers

Football is the most played sport atthe youth level in this country.

David Gallop | Chief Executive, FFA

AUSTRALIA


19/60

The National Plan

The Football Federation Australia (FFA) has been one of the primary drivers behind the increase in

grassroots football participation in Australia. There have been many strategic initiatives implemented by

the Federation which focus on grassroots football which are a part of its 10 year National Plan. The focus

points of the National Plan are:

To produce a team that is consistently ranked in the top 20 in the mens FIFA ranking system by 2015 (and

strive for a position in the top 10 by 2020).

To create a Talent Development and Identication Program that achieves success for generations to

come.

To create a coach development system in Australia that produces quality coaches that are able to bring

the content of the curriculum to life to realize the targets.

To create a youth development system in Australia that is fully operational nationwide by 2015 and

renowned as one of the worlds best

Results

9

Figure 5: Sports Participation in A ustralia (2001 - 2009)

Signs suggest that the A-League is playing its role in providing a link between the games huge participant

community and the new-found success of the Australian representative team. In doing so, the FFA has

driven the repositioning of soccer into Australian sports mainstream.

Match day, television and online audiences suggest the on and off-eld quality of the A-League is

resonating and engaging a signicant section of the Australian sporting community outside of its

marginalised ethnic origins.

The strong grassroots culture has already begun to bear fruit for the overall development of football in

Australia as it recently became the second country to qualify for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

The Socceroos celebrate qualication to the FIFA World Cup 2014


20/60

Origins

Over the past 30 years, soccer has gone from an obscure international game to become one of the most

popular recreational sports among youth in the United States. The popularity of soccer in the U.S. has been

growing since the 1960s and 1970s, and received a signicant boost when the United States hosted the

1994 World Cup.

Background

There are more than 75 million international soccer fans in the United States. At a growth rate of 52% and

with an increase of devoted fans since 2005, it's the fastest-growing avid fan base in the country.

Figure 6: Fan following in numbers for sports in the United States

The Rise of Soccer

According to the Soccer Industry Council of America, 18.2 million Americans played organized soccer in

1999, with 13.8 million under 18. Also, high school participation increased by 65% between 1987-99.Among youth 12-17, soccer participation rose 20% to 6 million (from 5 million). While other team sports

like softball (-12%); baseball (-7%); volleyball (-3%) and basketball (-2%) experienced losses.

In recent decades, more youth sports organizations have turned to soccer as a supplement to Am er ic an

football, and most American high schools oer both soccer and American Football in their fall sports

seasons. Due to the rising number of youths playing, the term soccer mom is used in American social and

political discourse to describe middle or upper-middle class suburban women with school-age children.

Americans between the ages of 12 and 24 rank professional soccer as their second favourite sport behind

only American football. And in 2011, the FIFA video game ranked as the 2nd most popular video game in

the country, behind only Madden, an American Football game.

10

UNITED STATES


21/60

Though organized locally by organizations all over the United States, there are ve main youth soccerorganizations working nationwide through aliated local associations.

The United States Youth Soccer Association

US Youth Soccer is the largest member of the United States Soccer Federation, the governing body forsoccer in the United States. US Youth Soccer is a nationwide body of over 600,000 volunteers andadministrators, and over 300,000 dedicated coaches, most of who also are volunteers. US Youth Soccerregisters over 3,000,000 youth players between the ages of 5 and 19. US Youth Soccer is made up of 55member State Associations.

American Youth Soccer Organization

The American Youth Soccer Organization (AYSO) is a non-prot soccer organization in the United States forchildren aged 4 through 19. Headquartered in California, AYSO has local programs known as "regions" inall 50 states, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Trinidad and Tobago. The organization is run primarily byvolunteers at its constituent local levels. AYSO was established in Los Angeles at Jeerson Middle Schoolin 1964 with nine teams. Today the organization claims membership of over 50,000 teams, with over

600,000 participants between the ages of 4 and 19. Over the years, AYSO has created many valuableprograms and concepts.

United Soccer League

The USL oers a number of youth leagues, including the Super-20 League and the Super Y-League, whichhave almost 1,000 teams and tens of thousands of players from the ages of 13 to 20.

Say Soccer

The Soccer Association for Youth, USA (SAY Soccer) was founded in 1967. SAY provides a wide array ofservices and support to members including insurance, coaching and referee support, legal and

administrative support, US Soccer Aliation, publications for all members, Online Store, and anopportunity for children to experience the game of soccer in fun safe environment. SAY Soccer is "The"Leader in Recreational Soccer Support. As of 2009 SAY Soccer assists over 600 Soccer leagues, 150,000players, 36,000 coaches, across the United States.

US Club Soccer

US Club Soccer is a national organization and member of the United States Soccer Federation that aims toadvance soccer in the United States through the development and support of soccer clubs. Theorganization sanctions clubs, leagues and tournaments for youth and adults, with a focus on high-levelcompetitive play. US Club Soccer boasts a membership from all 50 states, and the organization sanctionswell over 400 tournaments per year.

The success of the national teams, the MLS andnow with the new NWSL, you see theopportunities continuing to grow. The collegiategame has gotten so much bigger and better. Itsan exciting time for youth soccer players. The U.S.Youth Soccer National Championships, thatswhere they get to showcase that.

Mia Hamm | Two time FIFA World Player of the Year

11


22/60

Results

There are over 24 million Americans playing soccer. There are 4.2 million players (2.5 million men and 1.7

million women) registered with U.S. Soccer. 30% of American households contain someone playing soccer,

a gure second only to baseball. Increasing numbers of Americans, having played the game in their youth,

are now avid spectators.

A 2012 ESPN sports poll ranked soccer as the #2 most popular sport in the country for 12-24 year olds.

Most cities with MLS teams have large fan bases, and cities with USL teams have support on par with minor

league teams in other sports.

Furthermore, the increase in popularity of soccer in the United States is also the result of other factors such

as globalization (with the resulting greater TV exposure being given by sports channels to soccer competi-

tion), the continued presence of US teams in international competitions, and the continued building of

soccer-specic stadiums in the country.

Global superstars such as Thierry Henry and Tim Cahill now plying their trade in the MLS have provided a huge impetus to soccer following in the United States

12


23/60

Sport can be used as a cost eective tool to improve the health of communities. The physicaland mental benets gained from physical activity are documented and widely known.Evidence from developing countries in Africa suggests that organised team sport is a powerfulmedium to increase healthy behaviours among youth.

Coaches and older peers often tend to be role models and condants for youth, enabling themto discuss sensitive issues like sex, violence and family planning and help them to makeinformed decisions to lead healthy, productive lives. One of the organisations that has had themaximum impact on and o the eld in Africa is Grassroots Soccer.

Grassroot Soccer is a non-prot organization founded in 2002 that uses the power of football toeducate, inspire, and empower communities to stop the spread of HIV. Grassroot Soccerenvisions a world mobilized through soccer to create an AIDS-free generation. Grassroot Soccerhas programs in multiple countries with agship sites in South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe.Founded by four professional soccer players, Grassroot Soccer is mobilizing the most

vulnerable population of youth ages 1219 to break the cycle of AIDS by engaging local

Grassroot Soccer uses the language and beauty

of the game to break down barriers, build trust,and educate young people to adopt healthybehaviors. Soccer becomes part of the solution.Another thing that stands out to me aboutGrassroot Soccer is the way messages are deliv-ered by role models who the kids can relate to.

Robert Pires | Former Arsenal FC and World Cup Winner with France

13

coaches who equip young people with the knowledge, skills and support they need to avoid HIV. To datethe organisation has reached out to more than 577,900 youth.

Mission

Grassroot Soccer uses the power of soccer to educate, inspire, and mobilize communities to stop thespread of HIV.

Why Football as a Medium

Football is an integral part of local cultures across the world. It is something so positive that it brings

smiles to childrens faces even in the worst of circumstances. In most places simply arriving at a eld witha soccer ball will win instant friendships and immediate access into a local community. Football teamsand leagues are ubiquitous structures in even the most impoverished areas and professional footballplayers are heroes to the kids who watch them play.

Results

Overall, the Grassroot Soccer Program is a culturally appropriate, internationally suitable, creative, andeective way to educate at-risk youth about HIV/AIDS and its prevention.

AFRICA


24/60

Grassroots Football in India

The term sleeping giant is often used to describe Indian football and its massivepotential talent pool, but former India national team coach Armando Colaco thinksocials have to wake up to the problems at grassroots level if India is ever going toqualify for a FIFA World Cup.

Scott O Donell, Technical Director of AIFF academies, speaking about grassrootsfootball in India said, The biggest thing missing in Indias football triangle is thebase. There is no grassroots football in India.

ODonell was also critical about the clubs spending a signicant percentage of theirbudget on players with the sole motive being to win the I-League. That hardly leavesany funding or attention towards grassroots football where young talent can bespotted. For Indian football to develop, we must get more young boys and girls

between the ages 6 and 12 to play football.

14

India Football Statistics

20,588,000

No. of football players

6,450

No. of Football Clubs

385,000

No. of Registered Players

20,203,000

No. of Unregistered Players

Starting o young would help us to create a database of players at just the right age, ODonell said. Scottalso opined that India has been left much behind, about 20 years according to him, in terms of footballdevelopment when compared with what others have done.

Speaking at a 5 day camp in Mumbai, Real Madrid Foundation International head coach Escudero TelloGuillermo shared that he believes its not the dearth of talent but the lack of infrastructure that is theprime reason for the country to be ranked 149 out of 209 football playing nations.

In these 3 days, I have noticed that the skill level here in kids is no dierent than European players or otherplayers from Japan or other countries. Maybe in the future with better grounds and elds, the kids can

improve faster. I know in India the most famous sport is cricket. I think football needs more help from thegovernment so that kids have better elds to practice, said Guillermo.

Most Indian kids have a passion forfootball but there are not qualiedcoaches at the grassroots level to helpthem.

Bhaichung Bhutia | Former India national team captain

FIFA on India

Jrme Valcke, FIFA Secretary General, when asked on FIFAs development plans for India, said, With India, wereengaging on a 10-year development plan, which would include, if conrmed by the FIFA Executive committee, thehosting of the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2017 in India. There is no football without a strong base, without grassrootsfootball. There is also a lack of infrastructure here which hinders the growth of the game too; in this area also, wewill be active. With a population of 1.2 billion, it cant be that you cannot have another sport than cricket. There isdenitely space for football and, by the way, football is very much spread at school level. After this visit, we are evenmore convinced about Indias football potential.

INDIA


25/60

Jrme Valcke went on explaining why India was chosen as a priority for the development of the game,After the 2010 FIFA World Cup, we consulted the Asian Football Confederation and agreed together toconcentrate our development eorts on one country where we believe the potential is huge, rather thanon the entire continent which is so large. And that country is India. However, we rmly believe that theboost of the development of football in India will have a positive domino eect on the neighbouringcountries as well.

India is a priority for us. There is nofootball without a strong base,without grassroots football.

Jrme Valcke | Secretary General, FIFA

Demand & Supply in Football

The grassroots football ecosystem in India can be divided into 2 major parts, Demand and Supply.

Demand refers to the level of interest in football by the consumers. Supply refers to dierent ways thisdemand is met. In this report we will highlight the key suppliers present in India. We have identied 7 keystakeholders/suppliers, which are represented in Figure 4. Through case studies on an example of each ofthese stakeholders, we have explained their role, their denitions, philosophies, initiatives, objectives andfuture plans.

Figure 7: The stakeholders in Indian football

The Under 17 FIFA World Cup wouldprovide a huge boost for football allover India, particularly at the Grassrootslevel.

Scott ODonell | Technical Director, AIFF Academies

15


26/60

The All India Football Federation (AIFF) is the governing body of football in India which includes theadministration of the Indian national football teams and organizing the I-League, India's premier domesticclub competition in addition to various other football properties.

Objectives of the AIFF

1. To improve and popularise the game of football constantly and promote it throughout India in the lightof its unifying, educational, cultural and humanitarian values, particularly through youth anddevelopment programmes to urban, rural and remote areas including Schools, Colleges andUniversities.

2. To organise its annual domestic and International Competitions.

3. To draw up regulations and provisions and ensure their enforcement.

4. To control every type of Association Football including Friendly Matches by taking appropriate steps toprevent infringements of Statues, regulations or decisions of FIFA, AIFF or of the Laws of the Game.

16

We believe that a robust Grassrootsprogram is imperative for the devel-opment of football.

Kushal Das | General Secretary, AIFF

To become a successful footballing nation and be able to compete against the best, it is clear that thereneeds to be a strong focus on youth development.

Maximum focus and eorts have been directed at youth development by the AIFF as that is our future.Rob Baan and his team comprising of Scott ODonell (Technical Director of AIFF Academies) have beenworking relentlessly since their rst day in India to give shape to our most talented youth and set up a highquality supply line of players for the India Senior Team under Wim Kovermanns.

Denition

The AIFF aligns itself with FIFA and AFCs denition of grassroots football which is, Grassroots football is

football for boys and girls between 6-12 years of age. Grassroots football is simple, fun and easy toorganise and is an introduction to the game for any child. It provides children the access to football in asafe, enjoyable and positive environment. A good introduction of football to every child and ensuring thatthe children enjoy football, will help in the child continuing to participate in the sport in the long run.

NATIONAL FEDERATION


27/60

KEY OBJECTIVES

Attract young players to the sport; allow access to football in a childs own environment.

Football for all; irrespective of skin color, gender, nationality, religion or ethnicity.

Grassroots Football programs target boys and girls between 6-12 through school, club and community initiatives.

Development before winning: Ensure childs overall development comes before winning or losing.

Consists of small sided games and age specic activities

Football is FUN: Create an enjoyable experience for kids

Football can be played anywhere, everywhere

Football is the best teacher, teaches the values of life

Figure 8: AIFF Grassroots initiatives

We have to start early if we want to

grow as a footballing nation and de-velop the grassroots. We need to workon the pyramid and that stays themain objective of the Federation.

Praful Patel | President, AIFF

17


28/60

AIFF Grassroots Initiatives

Grassroots Courses

Due to the vast dierences across the Indian subcontinent, the AIFF along with the State FAs developed a

tailor-made strategic plan for each state for grassroots football which is in line with the overall AIFF

Grassroots Strategic Plan. 5 States have already adopted AIFFs strategic grassroots plan.This plan includes

courses and festivals, ensuring that selected local leaders implement the grassroots philosophy in their

everyday training with kids and most importantly provide as many children as possible with an

opportunity to play football.

3 FIFA Grassroots courses and 4 AIFF Grassroots courses have been conducted in the past year. All courses

are followed by a Football Festival which is typically attended by 80-120 children. The festivals have various

technical and evaluation stations which last for 90 minutes.

The Grassroots Leaders are trained to implement the AIFFs Grassroots Football philosophy in everyday

training. The Grassroots Leaders come from a diverse background, including School Football Teachers,

Coaches, Football Academy coaches, Enthusiasts etc.

Participants are chosen based on their current involvement and commitment to continue working in

Grassroots Football. The grassroots Courses have been held in locations mentioned below.

Aizawl, Mizoram

Kalyani, West Bengal

Mumbai, Maharashtra

Chandigarh, Punjab

Imphal, Manipur

Goa, Maharashtra

A trained Grassroots leader is expected to

encourage and identify future Grassroots

leaders in his/her region to spread themessage.

Suvrat Thatte | Development Manager, AIFF

18

Appointment of full time personnel

Following on from completion of the rst GR course in the State, the State FA is encouraged to employ a

full-time Development Ocer who will oversee the entire Grassroots program in the State. This individual

must be one who has completed an AIFF/FIFA GR course.


29/6019

State FA run Grassroots centres

Upon completion of the GR course in the State, the State FA starts Grassroots centres in each district of the

State, which are run under the auspices of the State Association in association with the District Football

Association. The centre-in charge has to be an FIFA/AIFF GR course trained GR Leader.

This Grassroots centre is run as per the model designed by the AIFF. Eventually each district starts one

Grassroots centre run by the State Association and the respective District Association. Depending on the

requirement of a particular State and the capacity to expand operations, each district may have more such

State-District FA run GR centres.

In the State FA District FA run GR centres, the AIFF model for Grassroots centres is followed.

i) GR centre run by the State FA-District FA together.

ii) A maximum of 180 kids are given an opportunity to participate in the program. The children train three

days a week. 90 kids train Monday- Wednesday-Friday and the other 90 train Tuesday-Thursday-

Saturday.

iii) The GR program for 3 months and is continued in 3 month programs across the year.

iv) The kids had to pay a very small entry fee to get on the program. This is a very small fee only to take care

of the cost of running the centre and ensures long term sustainability.

v) Upon completion of the three-month program, children can enrol again, or new kids will be given the

opportunity.

vi) All coaches coaching at these GR centres have to be AIFF/FIFA GR course trained individuals.

At the moment, Mizoram FA have started GR centres in 8 districts, All Manipur FA in 2 districts and Goa

Football Association have 11 GR centres functional. Very soon all other projects will also commence ontheir GR centres.

AIFF understand that it is dicult for the State FAs to cater to the requirements and run GR centres which

can accommodate all children in the State. Hence apart from the State FA run Grassroots all other

initiatives should be in line with the AIFF State FA Grassroots philosophy. To ensure this the AIFF has

developed a certication criteria wherein the GR initiatives in the State are certied by the State FA.

Ocial certication program

A Grassroots centre is a term used by the AIFF for ease of explanation. A GR centre is basically where

Grassroots football is conducted. This can be through a school, a football club, a community centre etc.

To ensure that the other GR Leaders who have passed out of the GR course are following the same

philosophy, the AIFF has designed an ocial certication program. Under this program, all the GR

centres/schools run by private entities (schools, clubs or community initiatives) will be certied by the

State Association upon fullment of certain criteria. An assessment of all GR initiatives will be carried out

by the Development Ocer of the State. The criteria is simple, but an eective means of streamlining all

GR activities under the State FA GR program umbrella.

Hence all GR activities in the State are encouraged to get ocially certied and aliated to the State FA GR

program. The AIFF is also developing software for registration of GR players wherein all players whether in

the State FA run GR centres of in the ocially certied GR centres will be registered through the software.


30/60

"It is great to see so many Grassroots Festivals taking place to help celebrate AFC's Year of Grassroots

Football. Grassroots Football is an essential part of the development of football in India and I hope this is

just the start of bigger and better things for us," Scott maintained.

Kushal Das also said, "In this way the target is that in the next four years all states undertake grassroots

football development. We hereby thank the AFC for the support and once again rearm our commitment

to the development of grassroots football in India."

A participant gets a football a nd a high-ve from India National team Head Coach Wim Koevermans at an AIFF Grassroots Festival (Image courtesy: AIFF Media)

20

Grassroots Festivals

As a part of the AIFFs celebration of AFC Grassroots Day on May 15, 2013, 40 grassroots festivals were

conducted across India. The festivals were conducted in dierent districts by grassroots leaders trained

during FIFA/AIFF grassroots courses held over the past year. The festivals were supported by the State

Associations and district associations. The festivals received fantastic response and close to 3000 kids were

part of the celebrations participating in the various festivals. The success of the event reinforced the AIFF's

commitment to the development of grassroots football in India.

The success of the Festivals is a signicant step showing that the Grassroots Programme has generated

widespread interest not only from the new Grassroots Leaders, but also for the parents and schools.The

Festivals were held across many States such as Jammu & Kashmir, Delhi NCR, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Goa,

Kerala, Haryana, Orissa, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Mizoram, Sikkim, West Bengal, etc.

AIFF Technical Director Robert Baan echoed the sentiment adding, "All India Football Federation has

started to organise one of the most successful activities in football, the implementation of Grassroot

Football in most of the states. Within 10 years from now, India will produce the new Sneijders, Van Persies

or Robbens." Scott O'Donell, AIFF Director of Coach Education and a FIFA Grassroots Instructor himself felt

that Grassroots Development was the way forward for the development of Indian football.


31/60

Coach Education

The AIFF D-Licence Course forms an introductory step to Professional Football Coaching in India. The

Course deals with teaching the bare basics of Football Coaching to rookie Coaches. The Course duration is

6 days.

Scott ODonell said, Grassroots stay on the top of our priority list and hence this course stays important.

You need good Coaches for the Grassroots and the D License Course prepares you for that. You get to

teach the kids and the instructors are there to guide you. You get to learn a lot. The participants are very

enthusiastic and I am very happy with the way things are going.

This is very essential. I have been a part ofCoach Education for long and I can tell you thatD License Programs are essential for GrassrootsDevelopment. You need good coaches to lookafter young players at the Grassroots level.

Wim Koevermans | Head Coach, India National team

India Technical Director Rob Baan conducting a Coaches seminar in Mumbai (Image courtesy: AIFF Media)

21


32/60

Kushal Das, General Secretary of AIFF said, I rmly believe that there are multiple aspects that we need to

work on to signicantly improve the state of football in India. Further, this can only be achieved through a

collective and streamlined eort from all the stakeholders involved in football, who are working towards

a common vision.

Figure 10: Development Pathway for Young Players

22

National SchoolChampionships

Inter-SchoolTournaments

Regular Schools

AFC Festivals

Inter-AcademyTournaments

FootballSchools

NationalChampionships

District & StateChampionships

PrivateAcademies

Grassroots

Club AcademiesAIFF Regional and Elite

AcademiesAcademies

Under-17 National Team



U-23 National Team(National B Team)

Senior National Team

National teams


33/60

There are thirty three State Associations aliated to the AIFF. The State Associations have their own

constitution and structure. Depending on the size of the State, the State Associations have district

associations aliated to them. Clubs are aliated to the district associations. In smaller States the Clubs

are directly aliated to the State Association. Each State conducts its own competitions. Competitions are

at district level. There are also inter-district competitions.

In India Goa has been one of the most active states with regards to football. Goa has 4 clubs playing in theI League rst division. In addition, Goa is one of the few states which has a strong focus on grassroots foot-

ball. Apart from various grassroot level competitions it also house SESA Football Academy, a residential

academy which develops youth footballers.

Goa Football Association

The Goa Football Association (GFA) was founded in 1959. The GFA has been making serious eorts to

develop the game, in a bid to keep pace with the fast changing scenario in the country. Besides going

professional with the game, GFA has taken a major step forward in initiating a youth development

programme. Until recently the crop of local players that surfaced were mostly those playing in inter-village

tournaments organised in the rice elds of Goa. These youth were not exposed to any structured training.This resulted in the development of sub-standard players as their technical fundamentals were weak,

directly aected the quality of competition at the senior level thus creating many challenges in marketing

the game to the public. With the quality of football being sub-standard at the top level, sponsorships and

paying spectators were hard to come by.

Grassroots Football Denition

According to the GFA, the idea behind grassroots football is to provide children with a positive experience

and give them all an equal opportunity to play, without focusing on winning and losing. The focus is on

having fun, on teaching children key life skills like respect, honesty and teamwork and helping them get

familiar with the ball. For a State Association, the target is to broad-base (inclusively) the sport as well as

ensure delivery of a quality programme at the grassroots for those children who do not have access to the

sport.

Philosophy

The establishment of Youth Development Centers (YDC) throughout Goa are an integral part of the GFAs

player development pathway and is the platform from which youth players are selected.The philosophy of

each Centre is to disseminate technical, tactical and theoretical information to each player stimulating the

players learning. Therefore, every Centre considers the needs of each player and takes into account their

developmental stage from a growth, development and maturity perspective and implements a

programme to develop young players who have and can maximise their potential.

23

AIFF has a comprehensive overall Grassroots Development Programme in place whichis rolled out through the State Football Associations. In a short span of seven months,

ve states have adopted the AIFF Grassroots Plan.

Kushal Das | General Secretary, AIFF

STATE ASSOCIATION


34/60

Figure 11: The Goa Football Association Pyramid

The program also aims to develop a cadre of community sports coaches helping the Goa Football Associa-

tion (GFA) to deliver a high quality (well organised, regular, age-appropriate, fun, inclusive) YDP for

children from the ages of 8 to 14 years in Goa.The GFA Youth Development Program (YDP) aims to

encourage football participation from the grassroots and provide a pathway for recreational as well as

elite performance football players.

Another major step taken by the GFA is in development and training of youth coaches. The coaches

training programme serves to grow the knowledge pool of football coaches in Goa (especially at the

junior/community coach level). The GFA works in collaboration with Football Federation Australia (FFA), to

ensure that programme inputs and delivery meet certain quality standards so as to benet all concerned

stakeholders as well as establish growth pathways for coaches and athletes.

Initiatives

Goa's Youth Football Development Programme was launched in 1998, with nancial support from Kannan

Devan, a subsidiary of the Tata Tea Company. In 2010, on the recommendation of the AFC, the Australian

Sports Commission began funding the GFA programmes under a 5 year plan. To ensure the smooth

operation of the programme, the Youth Development Committee, in a major shift of policy, introduced a

new system that enabled the continuity of the programme at a centre through the various age groups.

The GFA has also decided on developing coaches for grassroot level development.

24

I was impressed by the quality and enthusiasm of the participants. All are verypassionate about Grassroots Programs and have understood they are capable ofconducting Grassroots Programs in Goa.

Scott ODonell | Technical Director, AIFF Academies

Professional League

10 Clubs

Second Division

79 Clubs

3 Zones

Third Division

28 Clubs

4 Zones


35/6025

Currently, the GFA runs 11 Youth Development Centres. A YDC is a coaching centre for U10, U12, U14 age

groups. Players gain access to the Centre of Excellence through a trial process organised and delivered by

the local organisations such as educational establishments, football club community programmes, etc.

Players will be accepted into a YDC when it is appropriate for the players development. The YDC is run by

a local organisation/club. They will facilitate the organisation of the Centre along with appointing coaches

and managers with appropriate coaching qualications for each age group. The YDC will appoint a Centre

Manager who will administer the Centre providing players and coaches with all the necessary information

relating to trials, training times and venues, kit, codes of conducts, etc. The Centre Manager will be the

main point of contact and the YDC will operate according to the guidelines laid down by the GFA.

The Youth Development Committee has two Technical Directors, Visitacao Lobo working in the North, and

based at Duler and Brahmanand Shankhwalkar working in the South and based at Fatorda. Marcus

Pacheco is a special instructor.

FFA Collaboration

FFAs work, supported by Australian Sports Outreach Program (ASOP), is to help GFA train community(grassroots) football coaches and enable the establishment of Football Centres throughout the state. The

Football Centres and trained coaches are intended to raise the quality of coaching, to build the capacity of

the GFA to train more coaches in the future, and to signicantly increase the number of children exposed

to and enjoying football.

Concurrently, the program addresses the prominent social issue of children being physically inactive

whilst also challenging the often held perception that sport can hinder, rather than help, the academic

progress of children. The program has received considerable and positive media attention in the region

and has received endorsement from the national governing body of football in India, the AIFF.

Goa serves as a catalyst and gateway for

football in India. Our endeavour to achieve ourdream of putting Indian football on theInternational and world map is graduallyunfolding.

Dr. Runo Monteiro | Chairman, Goa Football Development Council


36/60

In India, traditionally, football or any sport has often been viewed as either an ordinary recreational activityor simply a waste of time. Parents try to limit their childrens playing time and prefer them to spend maxi-mum time on studying and scoring well in exams so that they can secure a lucrative professional career forthemselves. Pursuing professional football as a career is hardly, if ever, given a serious thought and thereis a lot of scepticism on the possibility of making a good living through such a career. In most countries inEurope, South America or Africa, it is quite the opposite. Parents encourage their children to take up a foot-ball career and love to think of their son or daughter as a future Beckham, Ronaldo, or Messi. They do notmind cutting short their childs formal education at high school or college, as long as he/she has thechance of making a career as a professional player.

The AIFF recognizes the importance of making professional football an attractive career option in theminds of not only children, but also their parents. This includes a holistic development of the sportincluding a better pathway for talent, more professional competitions, better salaries, better social laws,etc. In addition, it is critical that more jobs are created in football such as technical directors, coaches,scouts, physiotherapists, masseurs, administrators, etc.

In India, there is a tremendous amount of school football with several interschool tournaments beingorganized on a national as well local basis. A school team is often the rst organized football team that achild becomes part of. Hence, football in schools play an important role in promoting the sport amongstudents.

26

Football promotes team spirit and fair play. In a nutshell, football is aschool of life.

Sepp Blatter | President , FIFA

Matchday at the Ryan All-India Inter School Tournament, Goa 2012

SCHOOLS


37/60

Scottish High School

Scottish High International School in Gurgaon has been making headlines for their performances in

various grassroots football leagues and tournaments across the country. Champions of various National

and State level tournaments like Youth Champions League, Goa, Brazil International Football Academy,

TheFootballLink Junior League, this team is noted not only for their results but also their attractive style of

football.

We spoke to Mr. Deepak Jha, the coach of the team who setup the football programme in the school from

scratch. Mr. Jha, a graduate from Sports College, Delhi University reects back on how he faced rejection

for jobs due to not having played football professionally. This is when he realised the importance of

understanding the Indian social structure and psyche to achieve his goal of promoting football eectively.

Objective

Mr. Deepak Jha has a long term plan where he wants to create a positive football environment under

which a footballing culture can thrive. He realises this is not possible without the support of parents and

through his programmes tries to show parents the benets of football on and o the pitch.

Mr. Jha believes that to develop football a strong base is required. He said, To build a large sturdyskyscraper, a strong foundation is essential. Similarly grassroots provides a stable base or foundation for

football to thrive on, its absolutely essential for footballs growth.

He believes that schools have important role to play as a stakeholder in the development of grassroots

football in India because children spend 8-9 hrs every day in the school. School is where children get a rst

taste of working in a team playing in tournaments. He also stresses on how Indian parents trust schools

and teachers making the process smoother.

He ensures his students get maximum exposure and opportunities through participation in various tour-

naments and camps.

Matchday at the Scottish High Inter School Tournament, Gurgaon 2012

27


38/6028

Philosophy

The football programme at Scottish High focuses on grassroots development and the children get access

to football as early as 4 yrs old. They believe in holistic development of the child and inculcate social and

moral values through football. Mr. Jha has developed the football curriculum personally which is divided

into 3 stages .

Stage I

Enjoyment: Its the most important aspect of grassroots football; above everything the children must

enjoy playing football.

Stage II

Involvement: Due to enjoyment one can expect a deeper and more regular involvement.

Stage III

Development:After involvement comes development, which helps the overall football development inthe country.

Figure 12: The 3 Stages of Scottish High Football Philosophy

To be able to compete internationally he believes Indian players need to improve their Neuro Muscular

Coordination. He has designed drills to improve and work this. Visualize, Evaluate, Execute is the 3 stepphilosophy his students follow.

His students display excellent discipline on and o the eld. The importance of fair play and respect has

been drilled into the children. His proudest achievement he says is the improvement in the mental and

physical health of an Autistic child enrolled in the schools football programme. Its because of such values

he has gained the trust and support of parents.

Challenges

Speaking about shortcomings in the Indian grassroots football scenario he mentioned the lack of

availability of grounds for children to play in. He also stressed on the need for more and better organised

league, tournaments and coaching programmes and a stronger connection between AIFF and thegrassroots football community.


39/6029

The involvement of the corporate sector is very important in the development of grassroots football.Brands provide a much needed nancial injection which aids the growth of the sport. One of the mostactive brands investing in Indian grassroots football is Coca-Cola. They have created many dierent plat-forms for the development of Grassroots football in India.

Coca-Cola

Coca-Cola promotes active healthy living by oering products that help people to manage their calorieintake and energy balance and by encouraging physical activity. They seek to make sport and tnessactivities more accessible to more people and to demonstrate their importance as part of a healthylifestyle. The brands commitment is to encourage active, healthy living by supporting physical activityand nutrition education programs.

Coca-Cola has a global partnership with FIFA as well as a program called Active Healthy Lifestyle. As a partof the Active Healthy Living program a few of their initiatives have been highlighted below.

Full house at the Coca-Cola Cup Tier 1 nal between Meghalaya and Orissa (Image courtesy: AIFF Media)

Coca-Cola Cup

Background

The Coca-Cola Cup, previously known as Mir Iqbal Hussain Trophy, is an annual football tournamentorganized by AIFF since 1977. The Coca-Cola Cup is a tournament which aims to promote football at thegrassroots level and provide a much needed platform for aspiring footballers from across the country and

prepare a strong Under-16 Indian Football team. It is open to all young footballers in the age group of12-15 years.

The Coca-Cola Cup has oered the youngand budding football players of our nationwith a platform to demonstrate as well ashone their skills in the sport.

Robert Baan | Technical Director, AIFF

CORPORATE


40/60

According to Kushal Das, General Secretary, All India Football Federation (AIFF), "Sporting events such as'The Coca-Cola Cup, provide young footballers with an opportunity to showcase their talent and to be apart of the India Under-16 Football Team. We have received an overwhelming response over the last twoyears and we are thrilled to take this nationwide tournament to the next level.

We are working towards providing the right infrastructure and training facilities to the youth and our part-nership with Coca-Cola India is a boost to our plans. We believe that this tournament will play an activerole in encouraging youngsters to adopt football as their preferred sport."

According to Anupama Ahluwalia, VP-Marketing, Coca-Cola India & South West Asia, "With Coca-Cola Cup,we are committed to nurture potential football superstars of tomorrow by providing them with a platformand an opportunity to develop their inherent talent into a real-life profession. We are a company with aworldwide focus on football and believe in promoting a healthy, active lifestyle. We believe that Indianfootball has huge potential and by supporting AIFF for this tournament, we are tapping young footballtalent to train them according to International football standards."

Format

Stage I (District & State Level)

The tournament begins with Inter-School tournaments at a District Level. This is followed by a competition or a skill trial among

talented football players organized by the various District Football Associations. District level teams then compete within their

State, where the State Football Association select a team to represent the respective state at the Regional level. Inter-State

Tournaments are held in 5 regional rounds.

Stage II (Zonal Level)

27 state teams competed with each other across dierent zones-

(a) North East

(b) South(c) West

(d) East

(e) North

Top two teams from each zone will then advance to the national level.

Stage III (National Level)

Ten teams from the zonal level qualify for the national level which is played at New Delhi. In the end, two teams play the

National Finals with the winners lifting the 'Coca-Cola Cup'.

During the Stage III, AIFF talent spotters will identied and short-list 40 promising young footballers who are then coached andgroomed to form the National Under-16 Sub-Junior Team.

30

It has been our endeavour to promotegrassroots level football by associating withtournaments at the school level.

Atul Singh | Deputy President, Coca-Cola (Pacic Group)


41/6031

Highlights

Nearly 40,000 students from across India compete in the Coca-Cola Cup each year

Exceptional talent from this tournament goes on to represent the India under-16 national football team

In a past edition of the event, top players were identied and sent to South Africa for coaching and skill development just

before the FIFA World Cup 2010

Indian youth National Team Player, Uttam Rai, was identied at the Coca-Cola Cup and subsequently sent to Colorado, USA to

join the Colorado Rush Academy through a Coca-Cola scholarship

Coca-Cola Celebration Cup

Coca-Cola India has partnered with Goa Football Association to organize 'The Coca-Cola Celebration Cup',

a grassroot level championship, to discover young promising football talent in Goa. This initiative was a

part of Coca-Cola India's activation around the FIFA World Cup 2010.

Anand Singh, Director Marketing, Coca-Cola India said, "We believe that great football talent exists in Goa

and we need to identify and nurture it through interesting initiatives such as the Coca-Cola Celebration

Cup. We are happy to partner with Goa Football Association for the Coca-Cola Celebration Cup, which has

the potential to emerge as a powerful youth program and create a grassroots football movement in the

state."

Uttam Rai Sponsorship

Coca-Cola sponsored talented India U-16 footballer Uttam Rai's

six-month training stint at Colorado Rush Football Academy in the

United States.

The 15-year-old, was spotted by the All India Football Federation

(AIFF) in 2009 at the Coca-Cola Mir Iqbal Hussain Trophy. The Cola

giants picked up the player's tab for the airfare and stay in the US.

Atul Singh, CEO, Coca Cola India and South West Asia said,

"At Coca-Cola India, it has been our endeavour to promote grassroots

level sports by associating with tournaments at the school level. It is a

proud moment for us that our very own talent from the Coca-Cola

Cup, Under-16 tournament - Uttam Rai - will now be training at the

Colorado Rush Soccer Development Academy. This recognition for

talent at the grassroots level is very encouraging as India prepares totake the leap to the next level with the sport.

We hope that there will be more recognition and many more opportunities from international clubs and

associations for the talent in this country. We are certain that with his immense talent and potential and

passion for the game, Uttam will earn recognition on the international stage."

Uttam, who hails from Sikkim, spent 5 months at Colarado Rush and 2 weeks with MLS club Chicago Fire.

Coca-Cola is involved in many other football initiatives across India, including sponsoring various local

tournaments and as beverage partners. A notable property at the College level is the Coca-Cola Elliot

Shield, held in association with the Indian Fotball Association in Kolkata.

Uttam Rai with Atul Singh, Deputy President

Coca-Cola (Pacic Group)


42/60

The unbridled joy on the faces of a few street children kicking a broken bucket around a slushyground in an impromptu game of football, blissfully unaware of the pelting rain in the midst ofa sudden rainstorm, prompted the founding of our organization; Slum Soccer.

The beautiful game is a unique and yet, a perfect vehicle that transcends race, religion,language and gender to bring about a change in the lives of street dwellers. To equip the

The uniqueness of NGOs is that they target that sec-tion of the society which is not the focus of other stake-

holders mentioned, which means through their eortsthey end up increasing the player base. Football has auniversal appeal, it is an easy sport with not too manytechnical rules and costly equipment, once you getparticipants hooked on to sessions it becomes veryeasy to convey social messages and ideas as a part ofthe regular session or even otherwise.

Abhijit Barse | CEO, Slum Soccer

AIFF General Secretary Mr. Kushal Das states, "Using football to pursue social and development goals likegender equality is something we fully support. We believe the beautiful game can play an important rolein creating a signicant impact on the society,"

According to Mr. Abhijt Barse CEO of Slum Soccer their research has shown that the number of clubs regis-tering with the local FA increased since their eorts began to take shape. As a result of Slum Soccersongoing eorts the level of football has gone up, while the organization has been able to create parallelstructures that could strengthen regular football.

Denition

Grassroots football for Slum Soccer means development of the last or the farthest person in terms ofconnectivity from regular or professional football. Slum Soccer is essentially an organization/eort aimedtowards rst o developing football, as well as using the passion for football to pass on social message anddevelopment opportunities to their target groups.

Importance

Grassroots football deals in a large number of untapped/potential talent, by making sure a large numberof youngster play regularly football, Slum Soccer hopes that the love for the game will increase and eectmore and more people and secondly as more and more people play football the level of football will rise

as the competition increases. Their job is to create opportunities for the masses (in their case players fromslums) to participate in tournaments in an organized manner there by giving them something to lookforward in terms of entertainment and personal engagement.

32

to deal with and emerge from the disadvantages riding on the back of their homelessness, Slum Socceruse the medium of football. Unconventional as it may seem, development through sport has a trackrecord of being successful, across continents and from experience. They function with the ultimate aim ofreaching out to the Indian homeless using football as a tool for social improvement andempowerment.

NGO


43/6033

Philosophy

Football incorporates a lot of values and skill sets that are vital in life. From being social mists, players who

have participated in Slum Soccers programs transform into people who have the ability to work with a

team and they learn to trust their team mates. While the positive psychological impacts that football has

on the participants are latent and often take time to fully manifest, one change that is immediately

apparent is the marked improvement in physical tness levels. All this said and done, the biggest factor

that enables Slum Soccer to use football as a tool to connect with our people and bring about social

development is quite stunningly simple. Football is fun!

Slum Soccer has however always attempted to make participating individuals self-reliant in order to

ensure that their rehabilitation is sustainable. The game of Football is their means to that end. In their

experience, they have found it an extremely eective measure to get the homeless o the streets as a rst

step, enabling them to work with them further.

All Slum Soccer ask them to do is kick a ball. That simple act is therapeutic in a Freudian sense. The

inanimate football is the outlet through which all the frustration and disappointment the homeless

endure are channelled out. The prospect of an evening kick about could possibly be something if not the

only thing that they have to look forward to. They come to realize that football pitches arent a place wherethey are victimized or preyed upon, and can for some time let their guard down. As a rst step, Slum Soccer

attempt to give our participating players hope.

Objectives

Slum Soccer has always worked with the aim of reaching out to the Indian homeless using football as a

tool for social improvement and empowerment. Slum Soccer began based on the simple philosophy

Football for All. Most organizations working with the sport as a change agent emphasise on development

through sport as their focus. Slum Soccer has always aimed to nd middle ground by ensuring that while

seeking the benets that sport oers to community development, development of the sport itself is not

neglected.In view of this evolving philosophy, they now aim to make these participants employable. In

addition to enabling them to function in a conventional society, Slum Soccer also hopes to impart certainlife skills using dierent media like the art, drama and music.

Slum Soccer believes the time is also right for the Corporatization of Slum Soccer. The aforementioned

term is not normally used with reference to Non Governmental Charitable Organizations. It does evoke

mental imagery of prot mongering. However, the intention here is to bring order into our rapidly growing

setup by getting youngsters and professionals involved in Social Responsibility. Their vision is to develop

a structure conventionally seen in corporations and empowering interested volunteers by placing them in

departments where they feel they could best contribute.

Slum Soccer representing India at the Homeless World Cup 2013 in Poznan, Poland (Image courtesy: Slum Soccer on Facebook)


44/6034

Initiatives

Young stars is one of their main player development projects and is currently implemented at the Koradi

centre in Nagpur. The aim of the project is to provide football training to the participants to bring them

together and to ensure that they are provided with basic education.

Currently they are associated with three schools from Nagpur who are providing them with the

participants and the ground to conduct the football training. Over years they have seen a lot of children

back into the academic curriculum and are continuing football training with us on a daily basis. In addition

to the academic education those kids are also given inputs from Slum Soccer curriculum as well. The idea

is to improve the overall social standards of the population.

Slum Soccer National Championship is played for and by the underprivileged youth of India. A concept to

change life in the slums 11 years back, where the underprivileged youth is only privileged enough to

participate. Since last ten years, Slum Soccer has transformed this tournament into a National

Championship, where teams from all over the country collide and some of the players are extracted to

represent India in the Homeless World Cup, where 63 nations meet every year for the World

Championship.

Future Plans

Slum Soccers future plans include development of a full scale academy and regular tournament for target

groups, increasing the number of coaches training programmes they execute and continue running

smaller programs in at risk areas to reach the masses.

On a national level, Slum Soccer would like to bring together all the social organizations that are using

football to deliver social changes and to create a forum that can exchange best practise and increase both

the level of football as well as the social impact of football.

Slum Soccer in Chennai

(Image courtesy: Slum Soccer on Facebook)


45/6035

The Football industry is a team game; allstakeholders support each other to create a

sustainable & progressive platform for thegame. The Private sector acts as a glue tohelp sustain a market in football; binding allstakeholders by providing them products &services to keep the ball rolling.

Chetan Misra | Founder, TheFootballLink

Background

TheFootballLink (TFL) is a Delhi based organization involved in exploring the football ecosystem acrossIndia where all the stakeholders in Indian football collectively organize various initiatives in grassrootsfootball - Academies, Tournaments, Festivals, Seminars, Leagues, Underprivileged programs & Researchpapers - to understand & advance football as a business, advertising & brand building platform, and as asustainable medium for social development, healthy lifestyle and entertainment.

TheFootballLink has organized more than 135 initiatives including Football Academies, Tournaments,Scouting Festivals, Coach Development Programs, Seminars, Leagues & Research Papers, RWA Campaigns.In the past three years, they have directly worked with more than 20,000 children/youth from the privi-leged and underprivileged sectors of the society.

Figure 13: TheFootballLink Approach

TheFootballLink Philosophy

TheFootballLink initiatives are designed to directly benet the players, which in turn helps accelerate thegrowth of the game. As the game grows, the opportunities also grow, which helps create a nanciallysustainable ecosystem for football. All the benets (both commercial & social) are equally shared by all thestakeholders motivating them to further support each other. Through this symbiotic process they aim tocreate a spiral benet curve, resulting in more opportunities and further benets to all the stakeholdersinvolved in football.

PRIVATE ENTITIES


46/60

Figure 14: TheFootballLink Philosophy

The company believes in giving quality, building credibility in the process and nally converting the trust

developed into a business model both at a macro and the micro level. The company operates under its

motto - True to the Player. True to the Game.

36

Figure 15: Spiral Benet Curve

TheFootballLink Kashmir Festival, Srinagar 2013 (Image courtesy: TheFootballLink on Facebook)


47/60

Key Initiatives

TheFootballLink International Festival (2012)

In 2012, they organized TheFootballLink International Festival in association with Manchester City FC & AC

Milan Junior Camp. As part of the Festival, multiple tournaments (School championship 80 teams, F-cube

College/Open Championship 256 teams & Corporate Championship 64 teams), coaching camps and

social initiatives were organized. This festival attracted more than 5000 participants from dierent age

groups, making it the largest football festival organized in India.

TheFootballLink Kashmir Festival (2013)

As a follow up to the Delhi Festival, they organized TheFootballLink Kashmir Festival 2013 in collaboration

with the Jammu & Kashmir Football Association, from the 10 -17 May 2013 at the Bakshi Stadium & Polo

Ground, Srinagar. With more than 2000 football players participating across multiple tournaments

(Schools, Colleges/Open, Orphanages & Girls), Scouting Programs and Workshops, this was the largest

Football initiative ever organized in Jammu & Kashmir.

Child & Youth Development Program (CYDP)

CYDP is a collaborative eort by the Delhi Police and TheFootballLink to nurture & protect at-risk children

and youth of low income families from crime & abuse. This program provides a sports-based platform that

aids physical, mental and social development of underprivileged children & youth under the guidance &

mentorship of the Delhi Police.

CYDP Phases (2012 onwards):

I. Educate children and parents on the benets of football through on-ground presentations in slums and

schools and build a favorable image of the police

II. Link and connect CSR initiatives, grants, donations through an online platform to contribute to the

on-ground football projects

III. Provide a fun environment for children where they learn a skill, imbibe values of discipline and respect

and nd mentors in the Police who build on their personality

IV. Constantly Monitor the program through independent organizations to ensure its transparency,

accountability, quality and eectiveness

V. Generate accurate data and information to Evaluate the program and overcome any shortcomings while

generating statistical data to analyze its impact.

37

Participants at TheFootballLink festival (Image courtesy: TheFootballLink on Facebook)


48/60

Future Plans

TFLs plans have been divided in dierent phases as mentioned below.

2010-2012: 'Explore'

Organize various initiatives and case studies to explore the complex Indian cultural, social and political

environment with respect to football.

Research and build data on how the Indian football ecosystem is performing, with projects/campaigns

centered on beneting all the stakeholders involved.

2013-2016: 'Monetize'

Use the World Cup 2014 fever and organize various modular football initiatives across tier 1-2 cities in

Ind

Documents

Grassroots Football in India