Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik today launched a programme titled as Football for All in Odisha to take the culture of football to the grassroots. The Programme has been initiated by FIFA in Odisha in partnership with KIIT & KISS.

According to a press release from the office of the Chief Minister, over 43 thousand footballs will be distributed to children in about 2000 schools under this programme. This is the first such programme of FIFA in India that aims at promoting football among school children.

Joining the programme on virtual platform, the Chief Minister said that football is the most popular game and brings together people across the globe. Hoping that these partnerships and initiatives will help football development in our country, he said, “We are quite focused on football development, especially womens football. As a legacy of the World Cup, we will have good infrastructure and coaching programs’’.

Saying that it is a proud moment for Odisha to be the host venue for the FIFA Under-17 Womens World Cup, he said, we have partnered with AIFF and FIFA to bring the best of football to the State. This World Cup will give a major boost towards development of football in the state, he emphasised.

Expressing happiness over the launch of the programme, he thanked FIFA for choosing Odisha for this program and appreciated the role of Dr Achyuta Samanta and KIIT-KISS for bringing this program to Odisha. The CM looked forward to future partnerships with FIFA for development of football in Odisha.

Odisha Sports Minister Tusharkanti Behera said that under the vision of CM shri Naveen Patnaik, the state is investing heavily in sports infra. FIFA partnership will help promote football at school level, he added.

MP and Founder of KIIT & KISS Dr Achyuta Samantsaid that the CM’s vision has helped in development of an illustrious sports eco-system in Odisha. KIIT and KISs have been the logistics hub for this programme, he added.

Joining over virtual platform, Director of Football For Schools, FIFA, Fatimata Sow Sidbe said, football is a powerful platform to change society. “Football for All is a FIFA vision to make football truly global. The programme will provide life skill support to children, she added. She also thanked KIIT for the support,” she added.

Odisha Sports Minister Tusharkanti Behera  presented footballs to students of Unit-9 Girls High School and Capital High School, Bhubaneswar on the occasion. Odisha Chief Secretary Suresh Mohapatra, Secretary to CM (5T) VK Pandian, School & Mass Secretary Aswathy S and Commissioner-cum-Secretary Sports Vineel Ksrishna were present in the progamme.