India can produce world class and competitive footballers in near future, says Javier Saviola

With the U-16 football team of India giving a remarkable performance against Iraq and the success of U-20 Indian squad at the COTIF cup, youth football teams of India are extracting praises from various sports personalities. Former Argentina player Javier Saviola has also expressed his views on this, stating that the future of football looks quite promising in India.

“If the young footballers are nurtured from an early age, India can produce world class and competitive footballers in the near future,” Saviola told PTI.

Reflecting on the growing popularity of Barca Academy in India, Saviola has stated that India is working towards achieving bigger goals in football and requires a professional training, which is provided by the Barca Academy.

“Barca way of training is very popular globally. Our technique of teaching is not limited to the pitch but we spend time in classrooms to impart knowledge about the game. At Barca academy, it is a holistic development of the young footballer that we stress upon. It is also very encouraging to see schools like Heritage Xperiential Learning School, Gurugram encouraging world-class football training to young footballers,” Saviola said.

He also mentioned that the Barca Academy has inaugurated several centers in India over the last seven years. He made an announcement that Barca Academy in Gurugram will be the designated venue for Barca Academy Pacific Tournament which will be held between January 24-27 next year.

There will be 50 teams participating in the aforementioned tournament. Aitor Olmo, Technical Director of Barca Academy in India will be the director of the tournament as well. Four categories- Under 9, Under 11, Under 13 and Under 15 will be played in the tournament.

“My interaction with the young footballers of Barca Academy reinforced my belief that given the best training, India has the potential to be a leading football nation in the world,” Saviola said.

“In 2011 when we partnered with FC Barcelona to bring in Barca Academy to India, we were certain that the partnership will change the way the game of football was perceived in the country.”