The All India Football Federation (AIFF) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Ryan Group of Institutions to introduce structured football and futsal programmes across the group’s extensive network of schools, marking a significant push towards strengthening grassroots development in Indian football.
The collaboration aims to create an organised and standardised framework for football training within school ecosystems, while placing particular emphasis on futsal and girls’ football two key areas identified as crucial for long-term growth of the sport in India.
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Under the agreement, the AIFF will provide comprehensive technical support to ensure uniformity and quality in implementation. This includes designing grassroots football and futsal development frameworks, delivering standardised coaching curricula and structured session plans, and conducting grassroots leader courses for school staff.
The federation will also provide safeguarding training to ensure safe sporting environments, define competition formats and player progression pathways, deploy technical observers and scouts, and monitor programme quality and safeguarding compliance. Participating schools, coaches and players will be permitted to use official AIFF branding, integrating them into a recognised national development structure.
In return, the Ryan Group of Institutions will offer educational support for players enrolled at AIFF Talent Development Scheme (TDS) centres in Hyderabad and Bhubaneswar, creating a balanced pathway that integrates academic continuity with high-performance sport.
Focus on Futsal and Girls’ Football
A central pillar of the partnership is the development of structured futsal programmes within schools. Futsal, with its smaller playing area and emphasis on technical skill, ball control and quick decision-making, offers an accessible entry point for young players, particularly in urban environments where space constraints often limit access to full-sized football fields.
By introducing organised futsal competitions and training modules, the initiative seeks to create a technical foundation that can complement traditional football development pathways.
Equally significant is the targeted push for girls’ football. The partnership aims to establish dedicated programmes and competitions designed to increase female participation across age groups. By embedding structured opportunities within the school system, the initiative seeks to address long-standing barriers to entry and foster an inclusive sporting culture from an early age.
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AIFF Deputy Secretary General M. Satyanarayan described the partnership as a strategic step towards expanding the grassroots ecosystem.
“This partnership will help expand structured football programmes in schools and strengthen the development pathway for young players. Working with a large school network allows us to introduce organised training, coach education, and safeguarding standards at the grassroots level,” he said.
By integrating structured coaching, talent identification and competition pathways into the school system, the AIFF aims to create a more systematic approach to talent nurturing an area that has often lacked uniformity across regions. Ryan Group of Institutions CEO Ryan Pinto emphasised the educational institution’s commitment to organised sport as a developmental tool.
“We are pleased to partner with AIFF to bring structured football development into our schools. This collaboration will support student participation in organised sport while helping create opportunities for football training and competition across our network. Through this partnership, we would like to focus on futsal at the youth level and girls’ football,” Pinto said.
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The MoU signals a growing recognition that sustainable sporting success begins within educational institutions. By aligning technical expertise from the national federation with an established school network, the initiative attempts to bridge the gap between grassroots participation and elite development.
If implemented effectively, the partnership could significantly widen the participation base, standardise early-stage training methodologies, and create clearer progression pathways for young footballers particularly girls across India.
With futsal and structured school competitions at its core, the collaboration represents a strategic attempt to embed football deeper into India’s educational framework, laying foundations for both increased participation and improved competitive standards in the years ahead.
