FIFA Chief of Global Football Development Arsene Wenger concluded his
visit to India, where he went to kick off the ground-breaking TDS in the world’s
most populous nation, a significant moment in FIFA’s efforts to grow the game
and raise standards around the world.
The four-day tour included a visit to the new training academy in
Bhubaneswar in the state of Odisha, which is part of a wider national
initiative to identify and develop the best young talents in the country.
Launched in 2022, the Talent Development Scheme or TDS aims to increase
global competitiveness in both men’s and women’s national-team football so that
more countries can shine on the world stage.
It focuses on investing in academies, with FIFA planning to ensure that
75 member associations have at least one high-performance academy or centre of
excellence in place by 2027 through the FIFA Academies Programme.
Coaching is another feature of the TDS, with FIFA supporting member
associations by providing knowledge and guidance from FIFA talent coaches.
In India, FIFA will be deploying full-time FIFA Talent Coach Sergi
Amezcua and has appointed the High-Performance Specialist Ged Roddy to provide
day-to-day guidance and expertise on the overall planning and implementation of
the talent pathway.
The TDS will complement the All India Football Federation’s (AIFF) Vision
2047 in partnership with the Indian Super League, the I-League, leading clubs,
academies and regional state associations.
“There are many children in the world who do not get the chance to
develop their talent, and we can change that,” said Wenger in a press release
by FIFA Media Team on AIFF’s official website.
“We want to develop elite players in countries where there’s potential
for further development and India is definitely one of them. The talent
potential here is huge. We will work hand in hand with the AIFF to unlock this
potential,” he added.
The FIFA delegation, which included former international footballers and
High Performance Specialists Phillipe Senderos and Ryan Nelson, began their
visit in New Delhi where they met the AIFF senior management and took part in a
two-day workshop with local talent identification specialists.
They then travelled to the new academy in Odisha, a joint FIFA-AIFF
initiative that is designed to develop competitive youth national teams. Once
the centre is fully operational, the AIFF will seek to supplement this
development with additional regional centres around the country.
“I would like to see India develop its youth system well, that we create
great players, and that India goes to FIFA World Cups,” continued Wenger.
“I believe that we have an opportunity to change the world of football.
Football is the number one sport in the world, and a country like India, with a
population of 1.4 billion, of course, has to exist in this world – and that is
why we are here,” he added.
Finally, Wenger and the FIFA delegation travelled to Mumbai to meet local
clubs, leagues and football representatives, emphasising the importance of
taking a partnership approach across all areas of the football ecosystem.
AIFF President Kalyan Chaubey thanked Wenger for his visit. “His
guidance, leadership, technical plan and strategy will help India dream. Let’s
take a small step and qualify for the FIFA U-17 World Cup on merit, and soon
for the senior FIFA World Cup,” he said. “I have high expectations that through
the AIFF-FIFA Talent Academy, we will get our best U-17 team in the next three
years.”
ANI
