The All-India Football Federation is rolling off four residential coaching camps for junior footballers as part of a comprehensive plan to see India play in the 2010 World Cup.
The coaching camps, one for each of the four zones, are a part of plans for a task force that the AIFF will put in place soon. The decision on the task force was taken after discussions with Asian Football Confederation (AFC) officials in Delhi last week.
The AFC is believed to be unhappy with development of soccer in India and has recommended sweeping chances in training programs for junior players.
According to AIFF sources in Kolkata, groups of talented under-15 players would be enrolled in the residential camps, which will be supervised by a senior coach.
The AIFF is also planning a comprehensive development program for coaches.
Already West Bengal's football authorities have firmed up similar plans for a training session for its coaches. The Indian Football Association's (IFA's) request to the German authorities for the training of the state's junior coaches has been accepted.
The IFA decided on the foreign training session following a relatively poor show by 29-time champions Bengal in the Santosh Trophy. Experts blamed the junior boys' showing, which saw them fail to make it to the semi-finals of the tournament, on the lack of proper coaching.
Also, as part of the AIFF's 'target 2010' plans, leading corporates will be invited to get involved with the development of the game and raise their own teams by taking on lien senior national players.
