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Kolkata: Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Sunday presided over the kick-off program for the distribution of FIFA football as part of football (F4S) for schools in PM Shri Kendriya Vidyalaya, Fort William, Kolkata, West Bengal. The event was organized by the Ministry of Education and All India Football Federation (AIFF). In this program, 2487 FIFA footballs were distributed in 349 schools in Kolkata district. The program was held simultaneously in 21 Kendriya Vidyalayas covering all the districts of West Bengal. According to a press release by the Ministry of Education, a total of 88113 footballs will be distributed throughout the state.

On this occasion, Minister of State for Education and North Eastern Region Development Sukant Majumdar, Minister of State for Port, Shipping and Waterways Shantanu Thakur, Sanjay Kumar, Secretary, Ministry of Education and Literacy, Ministry of Education, Archana Sharma Awasthi, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Education, Ministry officials, other dignitaries and eminent players were also present. School sports captains (boys and girls) shared their views during the program.

Speaking at the program, Dharmendra Pradhan said that under this initiative, football will be distributed simultaneously to students in 21 Kendriya Vidyalayas across the state today. He informed that more than 88,000 footballs will be distributed in West Bengal alone, which will benefit about 15 to 16 lakh children.

Expressing his personal love for the game, Pradhan emphasized that a single football in a small school may inspire children to join the game and develop real passions to play. He further stated that about 1 million footballs will be distributed in schools across the country, which aims to promote participation in football and nurture a strong sports culture among students. The minister also launched an exhibition football match between two teams in the school.

In his address, Sukant Majumdar emphasized that NEP 2020 includes sports and other co-adjoining activities as an integral part of overall education. He highlighted Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the flexibility of policy and focusing on multilingual approach and expressed his heartfelt gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the concept of NEP 2020 and Dharmendra Pradhan for providing a clear roadmap for its effective implementation.

Majumdar further said that NEP 2020 gives equal importance to education and sports, which promotes all round development among students. He said that a healthy body nourishes a healthy mind and participating in sports like football plays an important role in adopting children healthy lifestyle and maintaining it.

In his address, Shantanu Thakur emphasized the importance of strengthening children’s sportsmanship and preparing them for international competition. He outlined the importance of such initiative in achieving this goal. He said that such efforts will re -awaken the love and interest in playing football in children and they will be deeply associated with the game. Thakur also said that such an initiative plays an important role in identifying and developing emerging sports talents across the country.

In his address, Sanjay Kumar thanked Dharmendra Pradhan for the concept of this initiative. He highlighted that millions of footballs would be distributed to students in schools across the country through this partnership with FIFA. He emphasized that this initiative will create more interest in sports in children and will nurture sports culture at the ground level. He further stated that the National Education Policy (NEP) is recognized as an integral part of education, in line with the recommendations of 2020, which outlines the value of the discovery of collective participation and excellence.

The Federation International de Football Association (FIFA) led by the Football (F4S) program for schools aims to promote football at the ground level by making the game more accessible for students within the school system. In India, the program is implemented by Dosel with the support of All India Football Federation (AIFF) and Sports Authority of India (SAI).

Under the F4S program, FIFA is contributing more than 9.6 lakh football for school students from 129 other countries besides India (till January 2025). Based on the success of the earlier F4S program in states like Odisha in 2024, the F4S program in West Bengal is part of a nationwide movement that reflects India’s commitment to promote sports culture from school level itself.