AIFF Exco Meet: Top five major decisions taken

A revamp and restructure of domestic women's football was also announced.

The All India Football Federation (AIFF) made some important revelations on their plans for the development of Indian football at the Executive Committee meeting (AIFF Exco Meet) held in New Delhi on April 14. Following the AIFF Exco Meet, a press conference was chaired by AIFF Chairman Kalyan Chaubey as well as General Secretary Shaji Prabhakaran where they made the announcements.

The two unveiled the federation’s plans on helping bring a more robust system to Indian football and help it grow. It had revelations pertaining to both men’s and women’s Football, as well as the grassroots structure as well. Some exciting plans were revealed, with the AIFF trying to bring in a football structure in India that imitates that of the top footballing nations from around the world. So here are the five major highlights from the AIFF Exco Meet.

5. ‘Blue Cubs’ programme to improve grassroots structure

AIFF chairman Kalyan Chaubey introduced a new program named the ‘Blue Cubs’. This will look into a restructuring of the grassroots scene in Indian football and help to develop a stronger foundation for the future generation. The Blue Cubs program is in line with the AIFF’s 2026 vision, where they aspire to ensure that as many as 25 million children in India are engaged and involved in Indian football. Moreover, the ultimate aim is to increase that number by four times to 100 million in 2047.

The Blue Cubs program will seek the help of government-affiliated NGOs, local and affiliated football clubs as well as schools from around the country. It will look to ensure that young children can get a proper understanding of football and learn its trade perfectly before reaching their teenage/young adult years. This program is being done to ensure that the grassroots development of an aspiring footballer is more efficient and fast-tracked than before.

4. Return of Institutional League and PSU clubs

The AIFF made a major announcement that can thrill the public sector industries or companies that lost their image in Indian football over the last decade. They announced that an Institutional League comprising 10 teams will start from the 2023/24 season. It will be a league with a home-and-away format and consist of just institutions or industrial sides.

A few decades ago in the I-League and NFL (National Football League), industries like Air India, HAL and ONGC had their own teams participating in the top division.

However, they failed to meet a key Asian Football Confederation (AFC) criteria being government entities and were not given permission to play in the Indian Super League (ISL). Soon afterward, they withered away from the I-League too. However, this institutional league has been created for PSU companies like them to make a return and compete in their own division. This could create a major increase in job opportunities in the public sector, with budding footballers having the chance of using sports quotas to play for these teams.

3. ‘Project Diamond’ announced

Along with the Blue Cubs program, another major announcement made by the AIFF Exco Meet similar to that was the ‘Project Diamond’. This will be tasked to look into the ‘elite player development’ in Indian football. The ISL clubs, I-League clubs as well as elite football academies in India will be a part of this. This project has been created to improve the developmental style of talented, budding young footballers in the country.

While the Blue Cubs program will look to help improve the basic grassroots structure for very young kids, Project Diamond looks to help the young adult or senior teenagers with a smoother transition to the senior level.

This should help the competitive level of such young footballers and improve their general training to fast-track them to the senior level. Considering how many young Indian footballers often seem raw and lacking in certain aspects of this game, this new project can help eliminate those issues and make players ready to go toe-to-toe against more experienced individuals.

2. Minimum wages for women footballers and new IWL structure explained

The AIFF also provided relief to the female footballers involved with Indian football. They made a major announcement, revealing a new minimum wage structure for women footballers. Going forward, it will be mandatory for the top eight participating teams in the IWL, to have a minimum of 10 Indian players on a fully professional annual contract worth a minimum of Rs 3.2 lakhs.

This has been done to ensure that female footballers get at least some decent reward for playing for professional clubs. Moreover, the AIFF also announced plans for changes to the Indian Women’s League structure going forward.

From the 2024/25 season, the Indian Women’s League will be a 10-team affair as the top division. This will be a change from the 2022/23 season, where 16 teams participated in a two-group affair. Instead, from the 2024/25 campaign, two sub-divisions will be created – comprising as lower leagues.

From the 2025-26 season, the Indian Women’s League structure will have a four-league structure – which includes the introduction of State Leagues as well.

1. Arsene Wenger’s Role in Player Development

A major confirmation made by the AIFF was that legendary Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger will be involved with the player development process. The Frenchman is currently working as FIFA’s Chief of Global Football Development and will aid the AIFF in their attempts to reshape the grassroots and elite footballer development system. FIFA’s Talent Development Scheme will play an ‘active role’ in the ‘Project Diamond’ Programme.

Their roles will probably be to advise the AIFF on how to implement this project. That could involve Wenger giving some tips on ways to properly develop a young footballer and what training they should undergo for optimum development. Considering the Frenchman’s reputation of having developed so many well-known young talents at Arsenal like Cesc Fabregas, Jack Wilshere and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain – his expertise will be extremely valuable for developing young Indian footballers going forward.