AIFF organises webinar with GBL operators, stresses on 'overall development process'

All India Football Federation (AIFF) on Monday held a webinar session with several operators to collectively take the Golden Baby League (GBL) project forward together.

Prince Rufus, Development Manager, South Asia, FIFA regional office as well as Swati Kothari, General Manager, All India Football Federation joined the session too.

More community reach, newer avenues, cost-cutting, sponsorship, and a variety of more aspects were discussed during the session.

"It was an insightful discussion for the Golden Baby Leagues operators as well as an opportunity for AIFF to engage and receive feedback. We believe these sessions will help the operators in their effort to make their respective leagues sustainable," Kothari said in a statement.

"It's an overall development process and AIFF wants to not only monitor but also work closely with operators and other stakeholders to take the Golden Baby Leagues program forward together," she added.

Rufus highlighted the importance of "capacity building" and mentioned how these online sessions could be helpful for the Golden Baby Leagues operators.

"Capacity building is of immense importance. Such online interactions will foster and strengthen the capacity of Baby League operators so that the Golden Baby Leagues can be self-sustaining in the future. This, in turn, will make the grassroots structure stronger which will benefit Indian Football in the long run," he mentioned.

The objectives of the GBL, such as the development of football culture, long term engagement and development of players were explained to them, along with the advantages of conducting the GBL and the application process for the same.

In the 2019-20 football season, as many as 35,000 kids across 19 states participated in the GBL program, which included approximately 3,500 young girls and 3,000 children in the Under-6 age bracket.

( With inputs from ANI )