Rijiju wants active participation from state, district football bodies and corporates

Sports minister Kiren Rijiju on Friday asked the top corporate houses, state and district bodies to actively participate in helping football grow in India and placed emphasis on grassroots developments.

Developing football at the grassroots is the best way to grow the sport in India, Rijiju said while addressing a 700-strong online audience, including national team coach Igor Stimac and Zlatko Dalic, who guided Croatia to the 2018 World Cup finals.

The minister spoke about his vision to build a football culture in India.

'Introducing football at the school level and organising local football leagues is the way forward to build interest in the game among children across the country," Rijiju said.

"Once we mass-base the game, then we can start scouting for talent and building up elite footballers," he added at the session organised jointly by the Sports Authority of India and the All India Football Federation.

He stressed on the need for a robust setup of football bodies at the state ...