Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium to be developed into football hub

New Delhi,In a bid to improve football infrastructure in the country, the sports ministry is going to develop the showpiece Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, the main venue for the 2010 Commonwealth Games, into a football hub.


Sports Minister Ajay Maken, during a South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) seminar here Thursday, spelt out the steps being taken to improve the standard of the game.


"First, we are going to lay down synthetic turfs in the states where All India Football Federation (AIFF) doesn't have any infrastructure. We would also request the AIFF to give us the technical expertise to lay down the turfs. We have cerated huge infrastructure for the Commonwealth Games and we are looking to develop them into hubs for different sports. The Nehru Stadium will be developed into a hub for football," said Maken, a day after he feliciated the footballers who represented India at the 1960 Rome Olympics.


The training of the national team and interntional matches will be held at the Nehru Stadium.
Maken also said that besides Nehru Stadium the sports ministry has also identified two more stadiums, with floodlight facilities, in the national capital that would be used for football.


"We are also trying to identify which of the 79 Sports Authority of India (SAI) training centres can be developed for football. We have similar plans for our 12 centres of excellence in the country," said Maken.
AIFF president Praful Patel, also India's heavy industries minister, said the federation has earmarked $8 million for developing infrastructure.


"Of the $8 million, around $5.5 million will be spent on laying of synthetic turfs in the country," he said.
Patel also thanked Maken for helping Indian football.


"When you have a young sports minister after a long time, changes like these are bound to happen," he said.

Football to be "major" sport in Centres of Excellence: Maken

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.

ONGC, Air India, HAL excluded from next season's I-League

NEW DELHI: After missing several deadlines, three I-League clubs - Air India, ONGC and HAL - will finally face the axe from the elite division football league as they failed to meet the club licensing criteria set by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).

The three public sector undertakings (PSUs) will not be seen in action from the 2011-12 season as they failed to declare themselves as commercial entities, which was one of the criteria set by pro-league committee of the AFC.

The ad-hoc committee formed by the Asian body met under the chairmanship of AFC president Mohammad Bin Hammam here Wednesday and it was found that of 14 elite division I-League clubs, these three failed to meet the club licensing rules. The clubs won't be eligible to play in the second division I-League as well.

The clubs were given a December 31, 2010 deadline to fulfill the criteria and submit all the required documents to AFC. A final decision on the eligibility of the I-League as a fully professional league will be taken Thursday.

A top AIFF official, on the condition of anonymity, said that Hammam was unhappy about the fact that three institutional clubs failed to meet the licensing criteria despite assurances from All India Football Federation (AIFF) president Praful Patel.

The Qatari, who is the third powerful football administrator in the world, felt it was time to come down hard on the erring clubs, which was not allowing the I-League to become a fully professional league.

"After several deadlines, the three clubs couldn't convert themselves as commercial entities to fulfill the AFC criteria," the AIFF official said.

The official said that three clubs should take a cue from Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML) Football Club, which despite being a PSU declared itself a commercial entity in the second division.

"The licenses are renewed annually. The clubs can still be a part of the second division if they fulfill the licensing criteria by year-end," the official said.

A top ONGC official said the institutional clubs have always supported Indian football. "ONGC have been the sponsors of the national league for a long time and we have also sponsored the Nehru Cup. This decision is a step backward when PSUs are coming forward to help Indian football."