The Technical Committee of the All India Football Federation met at the federation’s headquarters in New Delhi on Tuesday and proposed that the current national Under-17 team, gearing up for the upcoming World Cup in October, will benefit by participating in the 2017-’18 season of the I-League.
The agenda of the Committee’s meeting was to ensure that an experienced and competitive team could be prepared for the upcoming AFC U-19 Championship qualifiers in November 2017, which is the qualifying tournament for the AFC U-19 Championship to be held in Indonesia in October-November 2018. The four semi-finalists from this tournament will qualify for the Fifa U-20 World Cup in 2019.
It is interesting to note that India have confirmed their interest in bidding for this World Cup, the previous edition of which was also held in Asia with South Korea hosting this year’s tournament. If India were to succeed with their bid, the winners of which are expected to be announced later this year or earlier next year, then they would automatically be eligible to participate in the 2019 edition as hosts and would look forward to stringing together a competitive team.
It was proposed at the meeting that the team for the upcoming U-19 qualifiers could be selected from the current U-17 World Cup squad as well as the current U-19 National Team.
Apart from participating in the I-League, the team will also participate in other tournaments across the world and the committee hoped that this team would form the core of the senior national team in future years for qualification for future editions of the Olympics, Asian Cup and World Cup.
Chairman of the Technical Committee Shyam Thapa said: “This is the right time for the AIFF to take up this long term vision. I am very satisfied with the proposed long term plan which would ensure the team gets prepared in the best possible fashion for future editions of Olympics, Asian Cup and Wold Cup.”
Henry Menezes, Vice-Chairman of the Technical Committee stated: “The U-17 World Cup squad is the best among the next generation and clubbing them with the U-19 National Team is the perfect roadmap and the best thing which can happen to Indian Football. The boys would get adequate time to know each other and be fully prepared for future International competitions.”
The Technical Committee also discussed a plan to develop and groom Indian coaches and requested the Technical Director to come up with a detailed document. Thapa proposed residential state-wise academies for age-group teams that should be started by state governments in collaboration with the AIFF and state associations.