BHUBANESWAR: Chief minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday launched ‘Football for All,’ a first such initiative in the country by FIFA, to take the culture of football to the grassroots in Odisha.
A government statement said more than 43,000 footballs will be distributed to children in about 2000 schools. The programme has been initiated by FIFA in partnership with educational institutions KIIT & KISS.
Announcing the initiative on the eve of FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup scheduled from Tuesday, Naveen said football is the most popular game and brings together people across the globe.
Hoping that these partnerships and initiatives will help football development in our country, the CM said, “We are quite focused on football development, especially women’s football. As a legacy of the World Cup, we will have good infrastructure and coaching programmes.”
Saying that it's a proud moment for Odisha to be the host venue for the FIFA Under-17 Women's World Cup, he said, the state has partnered with AIFF and FIFA to bring the best of football to the state, hoping the world cup will give a major boost towards development of football in state.
Naveen thanked FIFA for selecting Odisha for the initiative.
Sports sinister Tusharkanti Behera said FIFA’s partnership will help promote football at school level. He presented footballs to students of Unit-9 girls High School and Capital High School Bhubaneswar.
MP and Founder of KIIT & KISS, Achyuta Samant, said the CM’s vision has helped in development of an illustrious sports eco-system in Odisha. KIIT and KISS have been the logistics hub for this programme, he added.
Director of ‘Football For Schools’, FIFA, Fatimata Sow Sidbe said football is a powerful platform to change society. She said that ‘Football for All’ is a FIFA vision to make football truly global. The programme will provide life skill support to children, she added.
