The Asian Football Confederation has conferred the All India Football Federation with the AFC Elite Youth Scheme full membership status.
AFC general secretary Dato Windsor John informed the AIFF that its application for full membership of the Elite Youth Scheme has been approved by the Youth Panel.
"We are delighted to confer to the All India Football Federation the AFC Elite Youth Scheme full membership status and the Reliance Foundation Young Champs Academy and JSW Bengaluru FC Academy the two-star Academy status, which is subject to re-evaluation after three years," the AFC said in a letter.
AIFF general secretary Kushal Das thanked the AFC for "recognising our effort".
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"The AFC Elite Youth Scheme has set a benchmark for all Member Associations to evaluate their youth football structure. AIFF is working towards fulfilling all the criteria to bolster the youth league structure and further strengthen the quality of footballers in India."
The AFC Youth Panel evaluates the application of all MAs in 20 areas of core activities which include leadership, planning, organization, staffing, recruitment, finance, facilities, teams, coaching, playing, player performance, health, fitness, psychology, welfare, education, collaboration, assessment, rules and results.
Member Associations must fulfil the first 11 criteria to be accepted as a full-member while those who meet the first 10 criteria will be granted provisional membership.
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Indian football technical director Isac Doru said: "It's crucial for football development to have more top football academies. RFYC Academy and JSW BFC Academy should be an inspiring story for all new academies in India."
