The "Football for Schools" programme run by FIFA will be taken to over 700 districts in the country, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said on Monday. The Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti will be the nodal agency for implementing it. Football for Schools (F4S) is run by FIFA, in collaboration with UNESCO, and it aims to contribute to the education, development and empowerment of around 700 million children. It seeks to make football more accessible to boys and girls around the world by incorporating football activities into the education system in partnership with authorities and stakeholders.
Pradhan made the announcement at a meeting with FIFA secretary general Fatma Samoura, ahead of the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup. "The Football for Schools movement espouses the spirit of the (National Education Policy) NEP-2020 and promotes sports-integrated learning. It will boost culture of sports in India and help in developing skills of our students," he added. "Government is committed to promote sports and create a mass movement for football, especially among school children," the minister added.
Keeping in view the large network of schools in India, Samoura and Pradhan agreed to take the "Football for Schools" programme to all districts of the country, according to ministry officials. "Pradhan informed that Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti will be the nodal agency on behalf of the Ministry of Education to take this initiative forward," a statement issued by the ministry stated.