AIFF Media Team

NEW DELHI: The UEFA Assist Football for Women seminar, hosted by the Federation, came to a close on Friday, January 13, 2023, in New Delhi. The seminar, attended by current Indian internationals, former players, coaches, and administrators, was designed to facilitate capacity building for the women’s game in the country.

Speaking during the closing ceremony, AIFF Secretary General Dr Shaji Prabhakaran said, “With UEFA’s support, we have initiated capacity building exercise for women, for the growth of women's football in India. The last four days have been very productive because more than 30 participants who attended the seminar got hugely motivated and we are sure that they will go back and encourage more women to be part of football in India.

“We would like to continue to work closely with UEFA in this area, to boost our women's football structure as well as develop a capacity by which we’ll be able to achieve our target from 2026 and also our Vision 2047,” he added.

The seminar, consisting of multiple sessions, was customised for different stakeholders within women’s football in the country. The first day catered almost exclusively to current players and focused on building leadership on-pitch and translating it outside as well. The second day’s session focused on building a culture that supports football for women within the country’s footballing ecosystem.

The AIFF-UEFA collaboration was in line with ‘Vision 2047’, which targets to bring in more investment and increase participation in women’s football in the country. The final two days of the seminar were catered exclusively for women administrators, leaders, and coaches, many of whom are also members of the Federation’s Women’s Committee.

Creating better governance and facilitating more inclusivity for women in governance was a key area of interest. A lot of focus was also put on finding and creating methodologies that would invite more investment in the women’s game in the country.

“The seminar was very useful for many of us, who have been working to grow the women’s game in the country,” Chitra Gangadharan, former India player and Women’s Committee Member, said. “It reinforced many practices we currently follow and also taught us new things we could implement. UEFA’s expertise, as well as the case studies they led with, offers us not just encouragement but also a clear pathway to grow the women’s game in India,” she added.