Education Ministry, FIFA to make football more accessible to both boys and girls

New Delhi: The Ministry of Education (MoE) is being supported by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) and the Sports Authority of India (SAI) in the implementation of Football for Schools (F4S), an ambitious programme run by the sport's world governing body FIFA, in the country.

A two-day capacity-building master training programme in this regard was organised by FIFA as a part of the F4S at Sambalpur in Odisha on Monday, in which 95 physical education teachers/trainees from different states/UTs, KVS, NVS and AIFF participated, an MoE official said.

Two more such training programmes will be organised in Pune and Bengaluru on October 5 and 6, respectively, where around 200 (100 in each venue) participants will be joining. These teachers/trainees will then be considered as the master trainers at the state level.

An MoU for this was signed between the Ministry of Education, AIFF and FIFA on October 30, 2022. Accordingly, Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya was chosen as the modal organisation by the Ministry for the purpose.

The programme entails empowering the government schools across the country by resourcing them with 11.15 lakh footballs. F4S aims to contribute to the education, development, and empowerment of around 700 million children, as it seeks to make football more accessible to both boys and girls around the world by incorporating football activities into the education system, in partnership with the relevant authorities and stakeholders.