Jammu, 10th January 2023: The Secretary J&K Sports Council Nuzhat Gull met AIFF President Kalyan Chaubey and Secretary General Dr. Shaji Prabhakaran in New Delhi today to discuss the roadmap for massive football activities in the union territory of J&K.
The Secretary J&K Sports Council Nuzhat Gull said that times when people have been thronging TRC Football Stadium in numbers to watch Real Kashmir FC play, indicates that passion for Football is the same but what is required is the frequency and quality of the events and main purpose of this meeting is to restore the pristine glory of the game in J&K which has enjoyed a numero-uno status for a long time. Secretary Sports Council said that as AIFF in its ‘Vision 2047’, plans to develop football across the country and take Indian Football forward, J&K Football too aspires to reach its zenith and I am hopeful that all AIFF will lend all possible help in this direction.
Kalyan Chaubey, President of AIFF giving details of the meeting said that there is no dearth of talent in J&K, and we are ready to work with the stakeholders in the region to bridge the gap between the dream and realization. We would like the game and its infrastructure in the region to grow to a stage where competitions could be conducted at all the levels, he added.”
Responding to President AIFF, Nuzhat Gull said that almost every district has a football stadium and more than fifty-plus stadiums have a high mast lighting system, and this year hundreds of matches were played across the union territory in the late overs and people flooded the stadiums. Citing an instance of the Industrial Cup held in the apple town of Sopore in North Kashmir, she said that a tourney like that turned into an alternate source of entertainment, and since sports have a lot of community impact, we saw the number swelling with each new event.
Discussions were also held on hosting National Team camps, and the capacity building of human resources in terms of referees, and coaches for both youth and grassroots level players, especially for women footballers.
Dr. Prabhakaran said, “since the Government of India has already taken a lot of sporting initiatives in J&K, AIFF will also chip in for the cause. He said that AIFF is also contemplating a possible MoU with the J&K administration to help build capacity in the local system and take the game forward in the state and a possible announcement of partnership may come in the month of March this year.
Connecting the links between Football and J&K, the tweet posted on the handle of President AIFF read, “The electrifying event of FIFA World Cup 2022 Qatar, had threads of pashmina shawls as souvenirs by the Indian artisans. He had also posted a picture of him receiving one such souvenir from the Secretary Sports Council, Nuzhat Gull.
If all goes as per plans, the senior or youth national team jersey national camp for 2-3 weeks may be hosted in J&K this year.
