FIFA President Gianni Infantino on Sunday kicked off a 'football for schools' programme in India and said he wants the "world's best players" to come from a country once described as "sleeping giant" by his predecessor Sepp Blatter. On the sidelines of the Women's Under-17 World Cup final here, the FIFA supremo inked an Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the national federation (AIFF) to launch the programme.
"We want the best players in the world to come from India," Infantino said. "You have the population, skills, and the ability to unleash that potential. Through the values of sports, I am sure we will see some fantastic results in the future." The MoU was signed between the FIFA, union education ministry, and the AIFF. Through it, the sport will be taken to a large number of schools across the country.
"We will be investing in education and schools. We believe that playing any sport is important at an early age. It teaches you the values of many important things in live," Infantinno added. Elaborating on the programme, he further said it's not just about teaching football but it would also give life lessons through football. FIFA plans to reach out to 700 million children worldwide, out of which 25 million are from India, Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said.