Coach is doing good job, may get extension: AIFF

Margao: All India Football Federation General Secretary, Kushal Das, said here today that the present coach of the Indian team, Armando Colaco, was doing a good job.

"We believe Colaco has done a good job... the AIFF is considering giving him a longer contract," he said. He also said that a cooperation between clubs, associations and the Federation was necessary for enhancing the profile of Indian football in the long-term. Das, who was in Goa to attend a function organised by Salgaocar Sports to felicitate its I-League winning team, said the AIFF will soon hold meetings with local clubs and associations to streamline the football calendar, keeping in view the commitments of the national club teams. "Unless we improve the profile of the Indian team, we will not be able to improve profile of the clubs," stated Das. Regarding the coming tours of Caribbean and UK (U-23), Das said they will benefit Indian football by gaining exposure to higher-ranked teams. Also, the tours would be beneficial in preparation for the AFC Challenge Cup, a gateway for the AFC Cup to be held in Australia in 2014. The AIFF was planning a central Academy for young footballers through foreign collaboration, Das stated. The Academy will have 80 boys in U-12, U-15, U-16, U-17 and U-19. Admitting that telecast of matches was necessary, he said, "AIFF president Praful Patel is handling the issue with our new partners Reliance IMG. We are planing to broadcast the Federation Cup and I-League matches on national channel and also make the event available on Youtube," he said. Talking about India`s 2-1 victory against Qatar in Doha, he said it was "certainly India`s best performance in the recent times". PTI