FIFA-AIFF academy: Another step in Odisha’s rise as a sporting hub

While it remains to be seen if the Arsene Wenger effect can turn things around for Indian football, the launch of the AIFF-FIFA Talent Academy last week has definitely created an air of optimism. For Odisha, meanwhile, it promises to be another major step in the state's pursuit to underline its credentials as a major sports hub, with the academy located in Bhubaneswar's Kalinga Stadium complex. 

A full house was in attendance as Wenger, the legendary Arsenal coach and now chief of global football development at FIFA, and Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik inaugurated the academy, which aims to spot and harness young football talent with an eye on the future. ‘The Professor’ of football then watched the Indian national men's team go down 3-0 to Qatar in a round 2 game of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, the result a fair indicator of the ranking disparity between the two countries.

How will the AIFF-FIFA academy be any different from the largely ineffective development initiatives taken so far? While AIFF (All India Football Federation) top brass say the goal will be to qualify for the under-17 World Cup on merit (FIFA has made it an annual affair from 2025), the Frenchman said it would be an ongoing process, and refused to set a timeline of when the initiative would start producing results. 

Speaking after signing a memorandum of understanding for the academy between FIFA and AIFF, Wenger said: ‘’Giving every talent in the world a chance is what our programme is about. To identify the talent in India, give good education and good level of competition to make great players. How long it could take, we don’t know but without education, we’ll remain where we are. Our target is to get India back on the map."  

It’s been a coup of sorts for Odisha to enter into the pathbreaking partnership with AIFF and FIFA — despite a number of other states boasting a richer football history. The Kalinga Stadium complex has 11 high-performance centres, while the state sponsors two national teams — hockey and rugby. The last five years have seen a significant rise in marquee sporting events hosted in Odisha, with two men’s hockey world cups staged8 and 2023.   

Outlining their plans to National Herald, AIFF acting secretary-general M Satyanarayan said: "The plan is to prepare an under-17 boys' team for the 2027 World Cup and help India qualify on its own. Right now, we’ve got about 45-50 boys who have been spotted at the national sub-junior championship and Wenger was impressed with four to five of them. 

"The selection process will last for about four months because AIFF coaches will be directly involved in talent identification. The AIFF under-13 youth league is going to start and we will have spotters over there and then boys will be sent to Odisha."

"Sergio, the head coach, is already there to start evaluating them. It will be a continuous process over the next four months, and the final 30 boys to go through will stay at the academy in Odisha for 340 days. Food, boarding, lodging and education — all will be the academy’s responsibility," he added.

AIFF president Kalyan Choubey said at the launch of the academy: "His (Wenger’s) guidance, leadership, technical plan and strategy will help India dream. Let’s take a small step and qualify for the FIFA U-17 World Cup on merit, and soon the senior FIFA World Cup. I have high expectations that through the AIFF-FIFA Talent Academy, we will get our best U-17 team in the coming three years."