Football’s world governing body FIFA has responded positively to Sports Minister MS Gill’s request for help in implementing the village-level initiative of Panchayat Yuva Krida Aur Khel Abhiyan, the AIFF said.
Gill and outgoing AIFF General Secretary Alberto Colaco met FIFA chief Joseph Blatter on Wednesday in Zurich to seek help in the implementation of PYKKA.
Colaco did not elaborate on the kind of help the FIFA would give but said the Sports Ministry and AIFF would send a detailed proposal in this regard for further follow up.
“The Sports Minister sought help from FIFA in implementing PYKKA in some football-playing States and FIFA has responded well,” Colaco told reporters after the announcement of the draw for the August 19-31 Nehru Cup here.
“FIFA has asked for a detailed proposal and we are going to do it soon. After that FIFA people will come and see how the initiative can be started.
“The State and district football associations will be involved in the initiative. It will be a joint effort of the Sports Ministry and AIFF and it will go a long way in the grass root level development of football in the country,” Colaco added.
PYKKA seeks to promote sport at grassroot-level by providing basic sports infrastructure in every Panchayat and holding annual competitions at the block and district-levels.
Source: The Hindu
From the archive. First published on footballkerala.com on Saturday 15 August 2009, restored from the site's 2012 database. Text as originally published.