NEW DELHI: Sports minister Ajay Maken on Thursday announced that football will be made a "major" discipline in 12 Centers of Excellence in the country while also proposing to make Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium a hub for the game.
Maken said the sports ministry would extend all possible help to the AIFF (All India Football Federation) to revive Indian football to its glorious past.
"If there is one sport which should be given all the attention, it is football. The sports ministry wants it to be taken to its glorious past," he said at a seminar of the South Asian Football Federation in the presence of AIFF president Praful Patel and Asian Football Confederation chief Mohamed bin Hammam."Till 2008, an important sport like football was not in the 'priority' list of the government but was put in 'others' category. However, it was brought back to the 'priority' list and through that the sports ministry will be able to give more money to the sport.
"We are trying to find out how many of 79 SAI Centres in the country can be used as training facilities for football. In 12 Centres of Excellence in the country, we are going to add football as major sports or convert them into facilities with football as major sports," he said.
Maken said India would be in "queue" to take football to greater heights by taking inspiration from Qatar, which hosted the Asian Cup in January and will also be hosting the World Cup in 2022.
"The Hindi word 'katar' sounds similar to Qatar and its meaning is to be in queue. So we are in queue to become a football country," he said with Qatari bin Hammam, who is fighting election for FIFApresidency in June, at his left side at the dais.
Praful Patel suggested that the sports ministry establish a Center of Excellence for football or make an existing one dedicated to football.
"I am not talking about football only but my suggestion is that pick three or four sports and establish a Center of Excellence for each of these. This is though my suggestion," said the heavy industries and public enterprises minister.
Patel praised Maken for his slew of initiatives after he took over as sports minister recently.
"This is what we can expect for a genuinely young sports minister. Wish you all the best," Patel said about his junior ministerial colleague at the United Progressive Alliance government.
Maken said the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium at the capital will be converted to a hub of football and athletics.
