Aiming to significantly broaden the accessibility of football within the school setting for students, the Ministry of Education has tied up with the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) to distribute 11 lakh footballs across the country in a phased manner. The exercise is slated to benefit more than 1.5 lakh schools. Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan doled out 6,848 footballs to be distributed to 1,260 schools in 17 districts of Odisha under the Footballs for Schools (F4S) programme on February 9.
The distribution of balls was launched by Mr. Pradhan in December in JNV Cuttack, Odisha. Besides the districts of Angul, Dhenkanal and Deogarh in Odisha, the footballs were also distributed in Goa, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, and Daman and Diu in a phased manner.
“Regardless of gender, the programme aims to seamlessly integrate football-related activities into the education system in collaboration with various stakeholders,” a spokesperson from the Ministry said.
