Football4Schools Initiative

• 01 Nov 2022

Why in News?

Recently, the Ministry of Education has signed an MoU with Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) and All India Football Federation (AIFF) for the ‘Football4Schools’ initiative in India.

What is Football4Schools Initiative?

• About:
  • The Football4Schools program is a step towards translating Prime Minister’s vision of making sports a way of life as well as creating well-rounded citizens.
  • It aims to empower 25 million young boys and girls in India through sports-integrated learning.
  • It espouses the spirit of National Education Policy (NEP), 2020.
• Objectives:
  • Empower learners (boys and girls) with valuable life skills and competencies.
  • Empower and provide coach-educators with the training to deliver sport and life-skills activities.
  • Build the capacity of stakeholders (Schools, Member Associations and public authorities) to deliver training in life skills through football.
  • Strengthen the cooperation between governments and participating schools to enable partnerships, alliances and intersectoral collaboration.

What is FIFA?

• About:
  • FIFA is the highest governing body of football in the world.
  • It is the international governing body of association football, futsal, and beach soccer.
  • FIFA is a non-profit organisation.
  • Founded in 1904, FIFA was launched to oversee international competition among the national associations of Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland. FIFA now comprises 211 member nations.
  • It is headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland.
• Objectives:
  • The primary objective of FIFA is to spread football internationally and promoting integrity and fair play.
  • It is responsible for the organization and promotion of international tournaments, including the men’s World Cup, which started in 1930, and the women’s World Cup, which began in 1991.
  • It is affiliated with the International Olympic Committee and is also a member of the International Football Association Board, which is responsible for setting the rules of football.
  • Six Regional confederations affiliated with FIFA:
    • The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) is the governing body for Asia and Australia.
    • Confederation of African Football (CAF),
    • Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCAF),
    • Confederation Sudamericana de Fútbol (CONMEBOL) is the South American federation,
    • Oceania Football Federation (OFC) has 14 members including New Zealand,
    • Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) is the governing body for Europe.

What is AIFF?

• The AIFF is the organization that manages the game of association football in India.
• It administers the running of the India national football team and also controls the I-League, India's premier domestic club competition, in addition to various other competitions and teams.
• The AIFF was founded in 1937, and gained FIFA affiliation in the year 1948, after India's independence in 1947.
• Currently, it has an office in Dwarka, New Delhi. India was one of the founding members of the Asian Football Confederation in 1954.

Source: PIB