The FIFA Chief of Global Football Development Arsene Wenger is set to visit India in the second week of October to launch a central academy in the country, confirmed All India Football Federation (AIFF) President Kalyan Chaubey on Sunday.
Wenger, 73, managed the English club Arsenal for almost 22 years where he was in charge of 1,235 matches, leading the club through its most successful period in history which includes 17 trophies.
Chaubey and AIFF Secretary General Shaji Prabhakaran met with the former Arsenal manager, Steven Martens, Technical Director FIFA, and Ulf Schott, Head of High-Performance Programmes, in Australia to decide further on the collaboration between FIFA and AIFF to finalise setting up an academy for U13 boys and girls, the final name of the academy is not decided yet.
“I am glad to say that we are on the verge of setting up a state-of-the-art centralised academy in India, along with FIFA, with Mr Arsène Wenger playing a key role in the whole setup," Chaubey said after the meeting.
"I am sure that with his experience and our industriousness, we can set the ball rolling for India to produce future stars.”
It has to be mentioned that the academy will not function in a standalone manner, but it will be connected with four or five smaller academies, thus making it a network.
"We are eagerly looking forward to welcoming Arsène Wenger to India for this very important project," Prabhakaran said. I have no doubt that he will have a significant impact on developing elite players in India, and we can safely say that his joining hands to produce top talents in India means that the professor is convinced about our country’s potential.
"He is an inspiring figure, and with his involvement, we can excite and engage millions of youths like never before, and we will have a few diamonds who will shine on the global stage. Finally, our project diamond is taking shape as envisioned in our strategic roadmap, Vision 2047.”
Arsene Wenger is one of the most important personalities in the Gunners’ history. He did not only manage the club for over 21 years but his impact goes beyond football as he also helped them to build the London Colney training centre as well as the Emirates Stadium.
He also rejected a move to Real Madrid in 2006 just so Arsenal could build the new stadium.