Futsal gets India push

There were also discussions on creating a platform for the spread and advent of futsal as a popular form of football in India

Representatives of the Asian Football Confederations met All India Football Federation officials on the opening day of the AFC Futsal development programme in the capital on Tuesday.

The AFC was represented by Ali Targholizadeh, technical director of the Futsal and Beach Soccer Development Department of the AFC, Jacob Joseph Biggs, project manager of the AFC Futsal development programme, and Badrul Hisham Bin Kalam of the AFC Futsal referee’s department.

AIFF general secretary Kushal Das along with Hero I-League CEO Sunando Dhar, technical director Savio Medeira, and head of player development Richard Hood were also in attendance at the meeting.

Speaking on the occasion, Das said, “We have been trying to develop futsal in India for some time now. This was missing from the Indian development programme. And I hope with the help of the AFC we should be able to start a futsal competition by this year in India. That is the objective.”

Ali Targholizadeh added, “I am happy with the AIFF initiative to develop futsal for football which is a part of developing football overall.”

There were also discussions on creating a platform for the spread and advent of futsal as a popular form of football in India.

The football federation said it was fully committed to creating a pathway for courses, competitions and match officiating across the country to help in futsal’s development.