The AIFF Elite Academy was the elite academy of the regional AIFF affiliated

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

academies. Founded on 1 February 2013, the Elite Academy started as a youth development project between the AIFF and

FIFA FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...

. The Elite Academy is the final frontier for players who train at the AIFF regional academies in various parts of India.

History

In September 2011, it was announced that both All India Football Federation and FIFA would work together to set up various regional academies and one elite academy in India with the goal of developing youth footballers in the country. The first phase was starting of regional academies in Bangalore, Kolkata, Mumbai, Delhi and Sikkim. The second phase saw Chennai, Chandigarh, and Kerala getting academies by March 2013. Each academy consisted of 30-35 under-14 players who would eventually develop to the further youth stages. Bangalore, Kolkata, and Delhi regional academies delayed while the Mumbai Academy was started with future India U23 coach,

Arthur Papas Arthur Papastamatis (born 12 February 1980) is an Australian professional football manager who serves as manager of Newcastle Jets. Background & Education Papas began learning his coaching skills at the age of 16 while a player and started l ...

. The reason given for the delay was due to the rampant age-cheating during trials for the regional academies. Of the 120 players selected after playing in the

Subroto Cup Subroto Cup International Football Tournament is a prestigious international inter-school football tournament that is held annually in New Delhi, India. The tournament held annually since 1960, is named after the Indian Air Force Air Marshal S ...

and other youth competitions, 84 were found to be over-aged and not even acceptable for the under-16 category. Eventually, the AIFF Elite Academy was launched in 2013. It was gradually integrated in the Indian Arrows.

2018 squad

References

{{Football in India Football academies in India 2013 establishments in Goa Buildings and structures in Margao Football in Goa

History

2018 squad

See also

References