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AIFF President Mr. Praful Patel with Prime
Minister Mr. Narendra Modi. Photo: PTI |
The Prime Minister of India Mr. Narendra Modi on Thursday (June 12, 2014) released FootballBallFever, a postage stamp to commemorate the kick-off of the FIFA World Cup at the 7 Race Course Road, New Delhi.
Mr. Praful Patel, the President of All India Football Federation who was present in the Function along with a host of former Footballers including Mr. Chuni Goswami, Mr. Subrata Bhattacharya and the present Indian National Team Captain Mr. Sunil Chhetri amongst others, stressed on the importance of taking Football to the “masses of the Country.”
“Football is the most popular sport of the World and is played among 209 Countries unlike Cricket. The popularity of the sport knows no bounds,” he told www.the-aiff.com.
“All India Football Federation is looking forward to hosting the 2017 U-17 FIFA World Cup which would be a game changer in the Country and will also help galvanise the face of Indian Football among the masses and youth of the Country,” he added.
Meanwhile, Mr. Modi also maintained that “Football is gaining space” in the Country.“This is history. India is making preparations for hosting the 2017 U-17 Football World Cup in 2017. Football is gaining space in our Country’s sports. We need to push it more,” he was quoted as saying. Besides, Olympic Medallists Mr. Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Mr. Sushil Kumar and Ms. Karnam Malleswari also graced the occasion.
