AIFF focuses on scouting young football talent for future national team

The AIFF is focusing on nationwide scouting for young talent, with over 200 players being evaluated for the under-14 squad. This initiative aims to shape the future of India’s national football team

Hyderabad: Far away from the madding crowds, the selections for the boys under-14 team are being held in the city by the All India Football Federation as part of its efforts to ensure talent doesn’t go unnoticed across India.

“This is part of the long-term strategy and, over the last 18 months, the AIFF’s scouting team, supported by FIFA Talent ID expert Richard Allen, identified 207 potential players, covering competitions like the AIFF youth leagues, national championships, school games, Subroto Cup, and other open trials,” a senior official of the Telangana Football Association informed Telangana Today. “More than 200 players will now be judged by a team of experienced coaches, who will finalize the under-14 squad for further training,” he said.

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“The revised and restructured scouting process has also ensured that potential talent from previously underrepresented regions, such as Lakshadweep, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Uttar Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh, have been identified,” the TFA official said.

In addition to scouting, AIFF has conducted capacity-building workshops for coaches, scouts, and PE teachers to improve talent identification at the grassroots level.

FIFA Talent ID expert Richard Allen said in a statement that through FIFA’s ongoing support to the AIFF under the Talent Development Scheme, they had seen real and encouraging progress in identifying and selecting young players.

“Together with the AIFF, we are proud to be working towards our shared goal of giving every talent a chance,” he said.

For his part, AIFF Technical Director Syed Sabir Pasha said the AIFF’s nationwide scouting effort is driven by one goal — to ensure no talent goes unnoticed. “We believe that the players we identify and nurture today will shape the future of the Indian National Team,” he said.

AIFF Deputy Secretary General M Satyanarayan said this was something missing in the AIFF — a dedicated, focused scouting department. “Thanks to FIFA’s Talent Development Scheme and Mr. Arsène Wenger, we held the first meeting with potential scouts from across the country, and from there, the scouting initiative has taken off. Since then, a series of scouting activities have taken place at various junior and senior-level events,” he explained.

“This is one of the latest efforts to catch them young. Now that we have initiated this, we will recalibrate as we go along, and hopefully, in a short time, scouting will become more effective,” the AIFF official said.