Arsene Wenger, Fifa’s chief of global football development, is set to visit India from November 19 to 23, All India Football Federation president Kalyan Chaubey said on Wednesday.
The former Arsenal manager had met with Chaubey and AIFF secretary general Shaji Prabhakaran in August in Australia and discussed the setting up of a central academy in the country.
Chaubey thanked Fifa president Gianni Infantino for his keen interest in Indian football and confirmed Wenger’s India visit dates on his X account.
“A big thank you to FIFA President Gianni Infantino for his keen interest in #IndianFootball. Via his office, we now have confirmation on Arsene Wenger’s India visit from 19-23 Nov. I wish to bring in ISL, ILeague club owners & football NGOs for a spl session hosted by @IndianFootball,” he wrote.
Performance praised
The Indian men’s team’s performance in the recent Asian Games in Hangzhou was described as “satisfactory under the circumstances” by the AIFF technical committee.
A rag-tag Indian team with just Sunil Chhetri and Sandesh Jhingan as notable names was assembled in the eleventh hour after the ISL clubs refused to release their players named in the original squad.
The federation was honoured with the AFC president’s recognition bronze medal for its efforts in the grassroots level development in the country.