Is it time to put more focus on Youth Football?
Arsenalkid700
7 Points
Is it time now. The AIFF have already said that they are focused on the Youth Football but the only thing they have done is the AIFF-FIFA Academies and those will only been in one place. I think it is time to have a HUGE meeting at the AIFF House in Delhi which involves the AIFF, FIFA, Every State Association President along with advisers, All I-League and I-League 2nd Division teams, IMG and Robert Baan and we discuss the Youth System in India. Its messed up and this story out of the USA about US Youth Soccer really got me thinking about Indian Youth Football (<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.soccerbyives.net/soccer_by_ives/2012/02/us-development-academy-switches-to-10-month-format.html"; onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.soccerbyives.net/soccer_by_i ... ormat.html</a><!-- m -->) I think it is time to take some ideas from the USA and start implementing them here. The USA know they are a big country and they planned around that and now they are 33 in the World (4 in 2006) and look to go up soon. Now also place your suggestions for the betterment of youth football and try placing any news regarding it here to.
Now here is my wishlist to the AIFF for Youth Football...
1) Start a new Youth League called the Junior I-League which will consist of all 13 (no Pailan Arrows) I-League U21 teams and have the Elite AIFF-FIFA Academy play in the league as well. Even though the players at the Elite AIFF-FIFA Academy would be 16 years old playing against a bunch of under-21 players but if these players are really the best 16 year olds in India then they should be a mid table team against under-21 players.
2) Revamp the I-League 2nd Division and relegate Pailan Arrows there. That was the original plan. Pailan was intended to play in the 2nd Division but Mahindra United disbanding meant Pailan was to play in I-League and sure it worked out once but now it is not. Also the I-League is for the top teams, not a team full of Youth players. These guys would gain better expirence and confidence in the I-League 2nd Division but the AIFF need to make the I-League 2nd Division like the I-League format first or it would be for nothing.
3) Start forcing Youth Regulations to I-League teams. Most of our youth will come from the I-League teams but the I-League teams are not scouting and most of the coaches suck. Even Pune FC does not scout as much. Right now we only have 1 Academy in the I-League and that is the Pune FC Academy. Mohun Bagan also runs a small Academy called the SAIL Academy but that still needs revamping. What I think the AIFF needs to do is now in force a deadline for I-League to develop an Academy that has the following...
- Head of Youth Department who oversees all the Youth levels, he is also responsible for who the coaches are ALONG with the Head Coach of the Seniors. The Board of Directors have no control over the Youth.
- Under-21 Head Coach: Coaches the Under-19 teams full time.
- Under-21 Assistant Coach: 2 Coaches who assist the head coach
- Under-18 Head Coach: Coaches the Under-16 teams full time.
- Under-18 Assistant Coach: 2 Coaches who assist the head coach
- Academy Doctors: Around 8 doctors hired for Academy players, 2 of them must be full time Academy doctors
Also follow the Academy Schedule of IMG Academy... <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.imgacademies.com/soccer-academy/soccer-department/boys-academy-program/"; onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.imgacademies.com/soccer-acad ... y-program/</a><!-- m -->
Each I-League team has till 2017 to get this implemented. If they dont then they are automatically expelled from the league.
4) Before the I-League Youth League season begins have all the Youth Coaches (at U21 and U18) meet at the AIFF House in Delhi with professional Academy coaches from the IMG Academy and have all the India Youth Coaches go through a 1-2 week coaching course so that they know what they are doing through the season.
Now here is my wishlist to the AIFF for Youth Football...
1) Start a new Youth League called the Junior I-League which will consist of all 13 (no Pailan Arrows) I-League U21 teams and have the Elite AIFF-FIFA Academy play in the league as well. Even though the players at the Elite AIFF-FIFA Academy would be 16 years old playing against a bunch of under-21 players but if these players are really the best 16 year olds in India then they should be a mid table team against under-21 players.
2) Revamp the I-League 2nd Division and relegate Pailan Arrows there. That was the original plan. Pailan was intended to play in the 2nd Division but Mahindra United disbanding meant Pailan was to play in I-League and sure it worked out once but now it is not. Also the I-League is for the top teams, not a team full of Youth players. These guys would gain better expirence and confidence in the I-League 2nd Division but the AIFF need to make the I-League 2nd Division like the I-League format first or it would be for nothing.
3) Start forcing Youth Regulations to I-League teams. Most of our youth will come from the I-League teams but the I-League teams are not scouting and most of the coaches suck. Even Pune FC does not scout as much. Right now we only have 1 Academy in the I-League and that is the Pune FC Academy. Mohun Bagan also runs a small Academy called the SAIL Academy but that still needs revamping. What I think the AIFF needs to do is now in force a deadline for I-League to develop an Academy that has the following...
- Head of Youth Department who oversees all the Youth levels, he is also responsible for who the coaches are ALONG with the Head Coach of the Seniors. The Board of Directors have no control over the Youth.
- Under-21 Head Coach: Coaches the Under-19 teams full time.
- Under-21 Assistant Coach: 2 Coaches who assist the head coach
- Under-18 Head Coach: Coaches the Under-16 teams full time.
- Under-18 Assistant Coach: 2 Coaches who assist the head coach
- Academy Doctors: Around 8 doctors hired for Academy players, 2 of them must be full time Academy doctors
Also follow the Academy Schedule of IMG Academy... <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.imgacademies.com/soccer-academy/soccer-department/boys-academy-program/"; onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.imgacademies.com/soccer-acad ... y-program/</a><!-- m -->
Each I-League team has till 2017 to get this implemented. If they dont then they are automatically expelled from the league.
4) Before the I-League Youth League season begins have all the Youth Coaches (at U21 and U18) meet at the AIFF House in Delhi with professional Academy coaches from the IMG Academy and have all the India Youth Coaches go through a 1-2 week coaching course so that they know what they are doing through the season.
Comments
6) By 2015-2016 start a College League which is national. Have it based on this... <!-- l --><a class="postlink-local" href="http://forum.indianfootballnetwork.com/viewtopic.php?f=62&t=557&start=20"; onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">viewtopic.php?f=62&t=557&start=20</a><!-- l -->
7) Also the AIFF should start a new organization called INDIA (Indian National Development International Association) which oversees all this. Hire a mix of foreign (preferably American or Australian) and Indian board members who have past experience with Youth set-ups.
8) Have all European and North American teams coming to India to start there Soccer Schools to get permission from the AIFF and INDIA before they start. So Manchester United cant just come to India and start a Soccer School unless they become an affiliate of the AIFF. This will help AIFF get better scouting and could possibly help set-up more camps by that Euro team in India elsewhere.
9) Make all I-League clubs take initiative and have them do Youth Camps in there respective cities for kids aged 8-16. This will get more kids in the game and thus increase interest. Also this will also insure that kids who dont make it at professional will still watch when they are older because they know the club and remembered how much fun they had.
Also have the I-League Youth Coaches read this long but fascinating coaching guild... <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://resources.ussoccer.com/n7v8b8j3/cds/downloads/Part 4 - Planning and Training U.S. Soccer Coaching Curriculum.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://resources.ussoccer.com/n7v8b8j3/ ... iculum.pdf</a><!-- m -->
would be happy to see these things coming to reality mainly the school and college leagues
True it would take a lot of investment but they are all still realistic. Each point I made involves investment from many places. We need the clubs to throw money into this, we need AIFF to do the same, we also need some government help which is why I want Royal and Sikkim in I-League because there governments like football and are willing to spend on it. Also IMG I am certain will work some sponsorship deals this summer which will bring in some income to Indian Football plus with European clubs coming in its the perfect time to invest and make money. That is why I said by 2017-2020. By those years we should be able to get most of those points done.
Oh and we got A LOT of money coming in from the FIFA Under-17 World Cup so I dont see any problem with these points coming in except for that they will take a long time to fulfill.
For this I propose a self sustainable business model for the academy in line with the federal student loan program they have in the US for college students. Currently the academies invest heavily in the players but when they start earning, the academies gets nothing in return. You can take any of the ex TFA players or say Vashum from Mohun Bagan Sail academy as an example. In my model, the investment will be a loan with the rate of inflation being the rate of interest which they will have to pay back once they start earning from playing football professionally. The loan will be considered or paid off by the government if you can make it really big, in cases of exceptional talent, I mean.
This year Pailan has invested big but since they are not getting results, Sukhwinder Singh was removed. Allegations against him include skipping practice, taking it easy etc etc. In his defense, he kept on complaining about the lack of quality in players. By now, Sukhi should know that brilliant minds in India don't take up football as a career, they would rather prepare for IIT and migrate abroad, so where will he find that quality. I seriously think Arrows should be coached by someone like Trevor Morgan who has developmental coaching experience with Hull City.
Another aspect to be seriously considered is attracting upper middle class to football. That can only happen if the infrastructure is close to international class, games even at the youth stage are played under floodlights. In other words, conditions conducive to play the game more comfortably. Unless the upper middle class is attracted to the game, you will never have higher IQ and the skill level will remain as pathetic as it is today.
For now, I think this is enough
Also infrastructure will get better after the 2017 FIFA U17 World Cup (yes I know its not India confirmed yet). Not only will the stadiums get better but smaller stadiums like the East Bengal Ground, Mohun Bagan Ground, a few sports grounds in Mumbai, a few grounds in Kochi and a few up North-East will get better to because the national teams also need practice grounds.
cringeworthy indeed