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Bringing Messi to India Makes a Turning Point
By siliconindia
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Saturday, 03 September 2011, 00:42 IST |
1 Comments
Lack of professionalism has held up the game's progress in India. But, FIFA has determined to support and spread the game. FIFA has been working with All Indian Football Federation (ALFF) since 2002 and has already invested $ 10 million to develop the football talent and infrastructure in India. The ALFF is already working on elite soccer player supported by FIFA for international football player quality & elite soccer academy which will draw on younger football talents from smaller academies all over the country. Liverpool plans to run a coaching academy in New Delhi and India seems to become a hub of soccer activity over the next few years.
These developments have brought in a ray of hope for the Indian football fans who cherish the dream of our national football playing the World Cup. In 1950, the Indian team's quest ended even before it began after FIFA ruled that they could not play barefoot as they had planned. The team could never quality for the prestigious tournament ever since.
The immense popularity of cricket made the absence of a major elite league, poor infrastructure, inefficient management and lack of corporate interest continue to hobble the Indian football development.
