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World football governing body, FIFA Chief Gianni Infantino will be paying a visit to India next month and may call on Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss the future of the sport in the country. The revelation was made at the executive committee meeting of the All India Football Federation (AIFF) on Monday (19 September). Notably, Infantino’s visit may coincide with the final leg of the FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup.
The meeting chaired by President Mr Kalyan Chaubey, in Kolkata was attended by Vice President Mr NA Haris, Secretary General Dr Shaji Prabhakaran, Treasurer Mr Kipa Ajay, and Mr Sunando Dhar. Kalyan Choubey opened the proceedings by informing the Committee about his development talks with the Government and the Qatar Football Association.
“At the start of the meeting, the members were informed that the FIFA President Mr Gianni Infantino may travel to India in the last week of October, to call upon Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi to discuss the way forward for Indian Football,” AIFF said in a statement released on Monday.
"(AIFF) President briefed the executive committee on the deliberations that took place with the FIFA president and also the possibility of him meeting our Prime Minister which would be updated once it's scheduled," said AIFF secretary general Shaji Prabhakaran.
"That would be an important day once the FIFA president meets our honourable Prime Minister. They would be making some announcements which would be path-breaking," he added.
The Executive Committee endorsed the Technical Committee’s recommendation to extend Senior Men’s Team Head Coach Igor Stimac’s contract till the end of the AFC Asian Cup 2023. The Committee also recommended that should India make it to the quarterfinals of the Asian Cup, the coach’s contract should be automatically renewed.
The Technical Committee’s recommendations to use Indian coaches in all age groups, to discontinue the Indian Arrows project and replace it with the Elite Youth League, and to appoint more female coaches for the Women’s National Teams, were also endorsed by the Executive Committee.