Srinagar, Apr 14: The J&K Football Association said that the All India Football Federation gave them the assurance that they will put a high priority on developing indigenous J&K talent.
AIFF Kalyan Chaubey and General Secretary Shahji Prabhakaran recently were in Kashmir and had meetings with LG J&K as well as JKFA officials.
"We highlighted the potential and talent that we have in our region and also discussed the challenges that we face in terms of infrastructure, resources, and support for the development of the sport," a statement issued by JKFA quoting its official Waseem Aslam reads.
"Kalyan Chaubey and Dr Shaji Prabhakaran assured that they will prioritize identifying and nurturing young talent in J&K UT. In this regard, AIFF has proposed a pilot project wherein they will send two scouts from AIFF to every district who will hold trials and identify young players with potential who will be given advanced training outside the UT," the statement said.
"AIFF also informed that they are prioritizing the development of girl's football and grassroots football. In line with this, the AIFF will be setting up girl's football leagues soon in J&K at the AIFF level and implementing grassroots football development programs apart from the regular district leagues," it added.
