NEW DELHI: June 23, the birth anniversary of Pradip Kumar Banerjee, India’s captain at the 1960 Rome Olympics and popularly known as PK, will henceforth be celebrated as ‘AIFF Grassroots Day’, the All India Football Federation has announced.
Explaining the reason behind choosing PK’s birthday, AIFF secretary general Dr Shaji Prabhakaran said it is a well-known fact that PK was an exemplary footballer, who played a pivotal role in India’s historic Gold Medal finish in the 1962 Asian Games.
“However, we often forget Pradip da was a teacher par excellence too. Once he hung up his boots, he took up coaching and for the next 30 years, produced an array of players, who excelled at the National and International levels. While his role as a National and a club coach is much discussed, the Indian football fraternity cannot forget PK da’s contribution at the grassroots level, his leadership at the Tata Football Academy, his ability to inspire and fine-tune the budding talents whenever with the junior National teams.”
In 1969, when FIFA ran its first coaching course in Japan under German coach Dettmar Cramer, known as the ‘Football Professor’ in the international circuit, PK enrolled himself for the course and returned home with a First-Class degree.
The AIFF Grassroots Day is in keeping in line with the Strategic Roadmap ‘Vision 2047’, which seeks to increase grassroots participation in the country. The aim is to engage 35 million children in football by 2026 and up to 100 million by 2047. The Federation has announced the Blue Cubs programme which will collaborate with NGOs, schools, clubs, academies as well as various other stakeholders to expand the grassroots ecosystem.
AIFF President Kalyan Chaubey paid homage to PK Banerjee while announcing the AIFF Grassroots Day and said the Federation would strive to honour his memory by ensuring the constant growth of the game.
“No words I use will be enough to honour Pradip da’s contribution to Indian Football,” he said. “He deserves all our appreciation. There are a rare few like him, a great player, a great mentor and a great coach who was filled with passion and always wanted to see Indian Football rise. Celebrating his birthday as grassroots day is a tribute from our end to recognise his contribution to the game.”
The AIFF Grassroots Day is in keeping in line with the Strategic Roadmap ‘Vision 2047’, which seeks to increase grassroots participation in the country. The aim is to engage 35 million children in football by 2026 and up to 100 million by 2047. The Federation has announced the Blue Cubs programme which will collaborate with NGOs, schools, clubs, academies as well as various other stakeholders to expand the grassroots ecosystem.
AIFF President Kalyan Chaubey paid homage to PK Banerjee while announcing the AIFF Grassroots Day and said the Federation would strive to honour his memory by ensuring the constant growth of the game.
“No words I use will be enough to honour Pradip da’s contribution to Indian Football,” he said. “He deserves all our appreciation. There are a rare few like him, a great player, a great mentor and a great coach who was filled with passion and always wanted to see Indian Football rise. Celebrating his birthday as grassroots day is a tribute from our end to recognise his contribution to the game.”
