BHUBANESWAR: All India Football Federation (AIFF) President Kalyan Chaubey met Odisha Sports Secretary Sachin R. Jadhav in Bhubaneswar on Saturday to discuss the renewal of the AIFF–FIFA Talent Academy in the State.
Later in the day, Chaubey also held a meeting with Suryabanshi Suraj, Minister for Sports and Youth Services; Nityananda Gond, Minister for School and Mass Education; Tankadhar Tripathi, President, Football Association of Odisha; and MLA Jayanarayan Mishra, according to an AIFF statement.
The discussions focused on creating a structured feeder system across all districts in Odisha and building talent pathways through the National Education Policy to support young footballers.
Strengthening the grassroots ecosystem was a key priority, including improved training for Physical Education Teachers and appointing former footballers as AIFF D-Licensed coaches to support early talent identification and development.
Suraj said: “Odisha is fully committed to nurturing football talent right from the grassroots level. By integrating sports into the school ecosystem, we aim to identify and nourish young students across every block, providing them with world-class coaching and structured pathways.”
He added that the meeting reinforced a shared vision to establish a strong feeder network capable of producing future athletes who can represent India on the global stage.
