New Delhi:
All India Football Federation President Praful Patel and Secretary Kushal Das today congratulated AIFF Elite Academy for winning the U-19 I-league and Aizawl FC for qualifying for the I-League.
Aizawl FC is the third team from the northeast, after Shillong Lajong FC and Royal Wahingdoh, to qualify for the top-tier league by winning the second-tier tournament.
Patel congratulated the AIFF Elite Academy Players and staff for their sterling performance in the recently-concluded U19 I-League.
“The whole academy programme that we started in 2012 is beginning to pay-off and the way these boys (AIFF Elite Academy) who are 1997 born played is a clear indication of how a structured Youth Development programme can raise the bar.”
“These boys consistently defeated the opposition in a convincing manner and I hope other clubs learn from this and create a structured Youth Development Programme including academies,” Patel said.
The academy players have all dispersed to their respective homes and will come back soon for the preparation of the AFC U-19 Championship.
Lauding Aizawl FC’s achievement, Das said, “Mizoram is one of the states which has come to the forefront of Indian football and that is because of their efforts to improve Youth Development.”
“Mizoram was one of the first states to inculcate the AIFF Grassroots Programme which was initiated by the erstwhile Technical Director Robert Baan and now is being implemented by the current Technical Director Scott O’Donell.”
The AIFF Secretary urged the state associations to learn from Mizoram and develop grassroots and youth development programmes to improve their respective performances.
