Cuttack, Dec 2: Minister of Education, Skill Development, Entrepreneurship, and Sports, Dharmendra Pradhan today inaugurated the FIFA Football for Schools (F4S) programme at PM Shri Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya (JNV) in Mundali.
The event marked the distribution of footballs to the students of various central schools and Navodaya Vidyalayas.
The F4S program, organized by the Ministry of Education, aims to promote football as a sport and foster a sportsman's spirit among school students. Speaking at the event, Minister Dharmendra Pradhan highlighted the collaboration with FIFA, the All India Football Federation (AIFF), and JNVs to implement this impactful programme.
FIFA, renowned globally for distributing 40 million footballs around the world, has joined hands with the Indian government to provide approximately 1, 53,000 footballs to schools in 742 districts across India. Additionally, nearly 30,000 footballs will be distributed to schools in Odisha alone.
Emphasizing the health and fitness benefits of playing football, Minister Pradhan expressed his passion for the sport, having played it during his formative years. He believes that engaging in football not only contributes to physical well-being but also instills a positive mindset in the players. The Minister asserted that apart from fostering talent, the initiative also includes modern coaching training for football instructors.
