New Delhi, Nov 15 (IANS) The three-day AIFF State Gradation and State-Specific Strategic Plans that concluded at the Football House here on Thursday turned out to be a unique meeting on many counts. The meetings, on all three days, were chaired by AIFF President Kalyan Chaubey and acted as a 'reality check’ on the Indian football ecosystem.

For the first time, 32 Member Associations (MAs) from across India converged to discuss and deliberate upon the diverse challenges ahead for Indian football in each state of India.

Prince Rufus, Lead, Regional Office South Asia, FIFA, who was present in the meeting on all three days, said, "In my two decades with football across various roles, this is the first time the All India Football Federation is actively engaging each of its affiliated units in open discussions and reality checks on the Indian football ecosystem. “This approach will enable AIFF to better understand and effectively address challenges. I am confident that this three-day strategic planning meeting will be instrumental in advancing Indian football," he said.

The discussions, which lasted for three days, amounting to around 25 hours, saw the principal office-bearers of the federation listen to the presidents and secretaries of the respective MAs, who were offered the floor for 40 minutes each.

The MAs made detailed presentations of their operations at the state level over the last three years and unfolded their plans for the next three years while realistically identifying their challenges and advantages. The AIFF officials also deliberated upon the proposals from the respective state associations for the development of football in their respective states in alignment with the AIFF’s Vision 2047 plan.

AIFF President Chaubey said, “India is a vast country, with diverse cultures. Each state and region has its own set of challenges that should be tackled in their own unique ways. The challenges that lie ahead of West Bengal or Maharashtra cannot be the same as those for Ladakh or Andaman & Nicobar. “We must ensure that there are state-wise plans for maximum optimisation of development, which will also help Indian football to move ahead in totality. Our proposals and discussions for the entire 25 hours in three days hovered around with this specific thought,” Chaubey said.

The AIFF President further said, “We requested each MA to present their case for 40 minutes each. Along with this, we have provisioned for each MA to submit their self-evaluation cards, based on which we will make proposals on a case-to-case basis.”

The self-evaluation cards are broad-based having nearly 500 points and cover several key areas like Administration, infrastructure, football ecosystem, sporting achievements, marketing and broadcasting, etc.

The meeting discussed at length the possibilities of gaining Atma Nirbhar Status (financial sustainability) for both the AIFF and its MAs. The AIFF, currently, mainly receives grants from three sources – the Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs, Goi, the FIFA, and the AFC, most of which are subject-specific grants.

The AIFF is now making every effort to collaborate with various State Governments and other organisations for the conduct of national and international tournaments and matches to relieve the budget constraints to an extent. These organisations have largely come forward in extending the infrastructure facilities to the AIFF.

The federation currently has 13,195 licensed coaches, and 3,616 registered referees for the 2024-25 season. The meeting felt if the coaches should undergo refresher courses for training at the grassroots level, then the same should be applied to the referees as well. The meeting deliberated upon the improvement of Indian refereeing in general and felt that this is one area that should be looked into specifically.

The members also agreed that more match time is required for Indian domestic players and discussed how the AIFF and the MAs can restructure the Santosh Trophy or the State Leagues to create more match time.

The Members were happy to note that altogether nearly Rs. 2,200 crore has been approved by several State Governments for the renovation of Football Stadium or infrastructure (like Guwahati Rs. 630 crore, Kokrajhar Rs. 140 crore, Tawang Rs. 224 crore, Nagaland Rs. 300 crore, Telangana Rs. 27 crore, Uttar Pradesh 800 football fields averaging Rs. 1 crore each field and 18 small stadiums averaging 10 crore for each stadium).