adminNEW DELHI. — An ambitious project to awaken a sleeping giant of Asian soccer looks like confirming Nobel laureate Amartya Sen’s famous remark that India pricks up its ears only when comparisons with China are made.
With China embarked on a multi-billion dollar mission to become a soccer superpower by 2050, India looks set to follow suit with its own plan to raise its status in the game to match its burgeoning economic power.
Come October, India, most famously described as soccer’s sleeping giant by former FIFA president Sepp Blatter, will launch a programme to engage more than 11 million children in soccer-related activities. All India Football Federation (AIFF) officials will not share details of the FIFA-backed programme yet, but according to a government statement, “Mission 11 Million” will be launched in about 30 cities across the country.
As in China, where the soccer revolution was inspired by President Xi Jinping, the desire to improve India’s standing in the world game goes to the very top.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi in March lamented India’s decline from one of Asia’s top soccer nations in the 1960s to its current position at 163rd in the FIFA rankings, sandwiched between the Comoros and Tajikistan. — Reuters.
Online Reporter