Legendary football coach Arsene Wenger will inaugurate the AIFF-FIFA academy, to be launched under the global football body’s talent development scheme, in Bhubaneswar on November 21.
Wenger, who is now the chief of FIFA’s global football development programme, will be in India from November 19 to 23 and will meet ISL, I-League clubs besides entities involved with youth development in Indian football.
Wenger was Arsenal’s manager from 1996 to 2018, under whose tenure the club won three Premier League titles, seven FA Cups and remained unbeaten in 49 games.
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Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik shared a post that read, “Glad to share that FIFA has chosen #Bhubaneswar to set up India’s first #AIFF-FIFA Talent Academy to nurture football talents in the country. #Odisha Govt is committed to provide all support for growth of the sport and we are working in close partnership with @IndianFootball to create the best facilities for our football players.”
Glad to share that @FIFAcom has chosen #Bhubaneswar to set up India’s first #AIFF-FIFA Talent Academy to nurture football talents in the country. #Odisha Govt is committed to provide all support for growth of the sport and we are working in close partnership with @IndianFootball… pic.twitter.com/AiCWJWyglj— Naveen Patnaik (@Naveen_Odisha) November 15, 2023
FIFA’s talent development scheme aims to collaborate with member associations worldwide to increase their national teams’ competitiveness.
“Arsene Wenger will be here in India from November 19 to 23. During this period, he and his team will meet ISL, I-League clubs and all those who are involved with youth development in Indian football,” said AIFF president Kalyan Chaubey in a release on Wednesday.
“Our efforts would be to build this academy into a flawless one. We are confident that Wenger’s vast experience and keen understanding of things would be of huge help in turning this academy into a world-class facility,” he added.
AIFF acting secretary general M. Satyanarayan said, it is a step towards All India Football Federation’s (AIFF) “long-term vision” and “investing in youth as young as below 14”.
FIFA has recommended Sergi Amezcua Fontrodona as the FIFA-trained coach, who will relocate to India to implement the project and act as the head coach at the FIFA-AIFF academy.
Amezcua was previously involved with developing football in China as the project director at the Barca Academy Pro Haikou.
(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed - PTI)