The boys’ and girls’ teams consisting best players selected from the Subroto Cup football tournament — the country’s premier school-level competition — will now feature at the AIFF Youth Leagues across age groups, from the 2023-24 season onwards.
According to a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed on Wednesday between the All India Football Federation (AIFF) and Subroto Mukherjee Sports Education Society (SMSES) — the organisers of the tournament — selected players will also be invited to attend respective age-group national camps after an assessment.
”This MoU will see the SMSES field a Subroto XI team in the AIFF’s youth competitions, which will be formed by scouting the best players across the various age categories of the Subroto Cup,” a release from the AIFF said.
The players will be picked by a four-member selection committee. The SMSES and Sports Authority of India will nominate a member each while the AIFF will provide two.
”The selection committee shall be responsible for identifying the top players and thereafter called up to the Subroto XI team of their respective categories.
”The AIFF, for its part, will allow the Subroto XI direct entry into the AIFF Youth Leagues for both boys and girls across various age categories from the 2023-24 season onwards,” the release added.
Subroto Cup is currently being held in two age groups of U-14 and U-17.
The AIFF said the players scouted from the Subroto Cup across various age categories will also be assessed using an IT-assisted Talent Development Scheme, and then will be invited to attend national team training camps of their respective age categories.
”The AIFF will also notify the ISL, I-League, and IWL clubs to depute their scouts once the match schedule for the Subroto Cup is provided,” it said.
Twenty five players will also be identified by the selection committee from each of the U-17 boys’ and girls’ categories for a one-time cash scholarship of Rs 25,000 each. The same award for the sub-junior (U-14) category will be Rs 15,000 each.
The MoU will also see various marketing collaborations between the AIFF and the SMSES for the Subroto Cup, with the tournament to be broadcast in a better way.
The AIFF will also assist the SMSES in age detection of the players in the Subroto Cup via the TW3 method from the 2023-24 season onwards. Dedicated coach education programmes will also be undertaken for coaches of the teams in the final rounds.
Following the completion of the tournament, the AIFF will also identify the ’D’ License coaches from the final round teams and devise a suitable plan to upskill them to the AIFF ’C’ License.
“(with this collaboration) the schools will be much more integrated into the competitive football structure in India. This collaboration will bring a lot of positive changes in the organisation and overall impact of the Subroto Cup, which will make a big change in the youth football ecosystem,” AIFF Secretary General Shaji Prabhakaran said.
“It will encourage more schoolgirls to be a part of football and also help us scout new talents from the Subroto Cup, which would further motivate more schoolchildren to be a part of the game.”
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