Imphal, Sep 06: As a part of the ambitious Vision India Pilot Project being undertaken in the State, Development Officer of Asian Football Confederation Jita Singh will inaugurate the Grassroots School League on September 9.Under the AFC's long term goal of grooming talented footballers, male players of eight schools each in Bishnupur, Churachandpur, Thoubal and Kakching would be covered.

The programme will be launched simultaneously in the said districts and sub-division with Jita Singh scheduled to grace the Churachandpur occasion, sports Minister Govindas Konthoujam, who is also the Chairman (Manipur) of Vision India Pilot Project, set to inaugurate the programme at Bishnupur, while AMFA president A Santoshkumar and Commissioner (YAS) Ch Birendra would respectively attend the inaugural sessions at Thoubal and Kakching.

The path-breaking AFC Project is said to have been conceptualised by the Federation's president Mohammed bin Hamam impressed by the performance of 2002 World Cup co-hosts Japan and South Korea. Consequently the AFC short-listed China, Indonesia, Vietnam, Oman, Iran, Bangladesh and India for the programme.

Ever since Manipur was selected as one of the Model State Delhi being the other in the early part of 2005 to implement the AFC project grooming of young footballers had been taken up in various districts in a phased manner.

Apart from the Project targeting players in the age group of 11 and 13 besides scouting talents in youth competitions and State level leagues, efforts are reportedly on to foray into other areas where talents are said to be abundant.

the Project is also aimed at grooming talented female footballers from the grassroots level.

As AMFA is the implementing agency of the AFC Project in Manipur, the State football body had been making all out effort to live upto the AFC expectation inspite of facing financial hurdles among others.

Even as informed source contended that AFC assistance is limited to technical know-how including sponsorship of training of coaches/referees, AMFA has conveyed its woe to the All India Football Federation (AIFF) who successfully canvassed support in the form of Boxer Sports Goods Company Private Limited agreeing to supply 350 footballs as well as uniforms and socks for players of identified schools.

Moreover, unwilling to let the encouraging programme go waste, Youth Affairs and Sports Department, Govt of Manipur has been chipping in with provision of other playing equipment.

It is also worth mentioning that soon after the AFC Pilot Project was introduced in Manipur Director of the Asian federation Brandon Minton had attended a two day workshop conducted on April 27 and 28 here.

Successive sessions on the project culminated with the State Government reserving three rooms in the Khuman Lampak Hockey Stadium for various committees and subcommittees formed for the implementation of the AFC Vision.

With subsequent development finally resulting in shortlisting 12 teams to compete in a proposed State level league among other grassroots development programmes, the scheduled arrival of Jita Singh is viewed as an important phase towards acceleration of the Pilot Project in producing world class footballers from manipur.

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