By IANS
Sydney : The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) announced that it would give top priority to India with a view to improving the game of football in the South Asian country.
“India is top priority for us (AFC) and we will invest more to improve the game there,” AFC President Mohammed Bin Hammam, told reporters ahead of an award function here Tuesday.
He vowed AFC’s full support to India through the Vision India programme, which is part of the Vision Asia development project.
Hammam’s words would boost the morale of the All India Football Federation (AIFF) as India is set to host the AFC Challenge Cup in 2008 and 2010.
The AFC had given to the AIFF a grant of $1 million for the development of the sport last year.
“Historically, India has strong football roots. Some of the oldest clubs and competitions are in India. Some clubs have a fan following of more than 20 million, inside and outside India. That is an indicator to the popularity of the game,” said Hamam.
India is one of the seven pilot countries in the Vision Asia development project along with neighbours Bangladesh, Indonesia, Iran, Oman, Vietnam and China.
“The AFC is trying to introduce professionalism in football throughout Asia with Vision Asia,” Hammam added.