Thaindian News

New Delhi, March 25 (IANS) The All India Football Federation (AIFF) is planning to field its junior team, sponsored by a corporate house, in the forthcoming I-League.
A top AIFF official said the team will comprise under-21 and under-23 players and the project is the branchild of federation president Praful Patel. The official said from Bollywood stars to corporate honchos, all have shown interest in sponsoring the junior team.

“Lot of corporates have approached Mr.Patel. He thinks this is the best way to groom the junior players for the 2018 World Cup and the Asian Games in China this year. We just have four years in hand as the qualifiers for the 2018 World Cup will start from 2014,” the official said.

“Some of the top corporates, who have interest in world football, are in contention. Some of the Bollywood stars are also interested in the project. It could be a consortium as wel. All the boys will be given a four-year contract till 2014, so that we can keep them together.”

A coach associated with the AIFF told IANS that it will be a good opportunity for the junior players, who otherwise don’t get much chance to play in the I-league.

“This club is going to be the nursery for the national team. These players don’t get a chance to play in bigger clubs. So, it is good idea to give these players more opportunities so that they can play against better teams,” he said.

The AIFF has received a sponsorship of Rs.250 million to prepare the senior team for the 2011 Asian Cup while the sports ministry has doled out Rs.100 million to groom the under-23 squad for the Asian Games in Guangzhou.