New Delhi: In a welcome initiative which augurs well for Indian football's youth development programme, telecom giant Bharti Enterprises on Thursday announced that it would fund the Under-16 team's preparation for the AFC Championship later this year.
Under a one-year agreement with the All India Football Federation, the first for a youth football team, Bharti pledged to provide world-class training and international exposure to the side in its preparation for the Asian Football Championship to be held in Uzbekistan in October.
Bharti's initiative, its second such agreement with the AIFF after the Memorandum of Understanding early this year to pump in more than Rs 100 crore to establish a European-style Academy in Goa, will give a big boost to the youngsters who made it to Uzbekistan after beating youth teams of Asian powerhouses, including Saudi Arabia and Lebanon, in the qualifying tournament in Saudi Arabia last year.
If the U-16 team, now in West Virginia on a four-week practice-cum-exposure tour of United States, reaches the semifinals of AFC Championship, they will automatically qualify for the Under-17 World Cup in 2009.
Commenting on the agreement, AIFF President Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi said, "The current Under-16 team is a promising lot and has performed exceptionally well at the international level. With the right support and exposure they can compete at the highest level and make the country proud." Bharti Enterprises Chairman Sunil Mittal said,"Developing a strong youth programme is one of the top priorities of our partnership with AIFF to create a powerful football culture in India. We hope this team's achievements at international level will be a major catalyst in further promoting football among youth of India."
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