Houghton for centralised coaching system by 2007

Kolkata, Nov 3 (UNI) Indian national coach Bob Houghton today revealed that the All India Football Federation (AIFF) is mooting plans to begin a centralised coaching system by early next year.

Houghton said the Federation was negotiating with some sponsors to put a system in place.

''It is likely to start in the first quarter of 2007. Goa or Kolkata could be one of the temporary venues, but the Federation plans to construct a permanent purpose-built centre in the country,'' he said.

''The camp will have players from under-16 to senior teams.

Though, players who are on contract with clubs might be excluded for the league and other competitions, the age-group players will be based permanently at the centre,'' Houghton said.

''The number of players at the centralised coaching centre has not yet been decided, but I would like to add U-14 team also after a few years which will help in producing more quality players,'' he said.

Regarding the Indian youth team's performance in the ongoing AFC Youth Championship, the former China and Uzbekistan coach said, ''They played quite well but they had problems in competing physically. The Indians are quite small compared to other teams.'' ''We need to opt for tall players as we have been selecting the wrong players. Height does matter in football. In the last match, Indians were looking like a young team against Jordan. We need athletic footballers now,'' he added.

''My suggestion is to have separate coaches for all the teams, plus a permanent physical trainer, goalkeeper coach, etc. This will help the teams and players coordinate better and would help in the development of the game in the country,'' he said in an AFC release.

About his observations on players and probable Olympic team call-ups, he said, ''I have not yet selected the group for Olympic qualifiers but I think Branco Cardozo, Sushil Kumar Singh and Rakesh Masih could make the grade.'' UNI BA SJC AY HS1824