Abhishek Yadav becomes COO for U-17 World Cup

NEW DELHI: Former India striker Abhishek Yadav has been appointed the Chief operating officer (COO) for the FIFA U-17 World Cup which India is scheduled to host next year.
Yadav, who is already the director of scouting at the All India Football Federation (AIFF), will work closely with head coach Nicolai Adam and not with the Local Organising Committee (LOC).
"I will be with the team and not the LOC," Yadav revealed to TOI.
"My role will be to look after the team for all kind of off field activities: say if a corporate wants to do something with the players and so on. Of course there will be the technical side as well," he added.
Yadav will be travelling to Dubai on Wednesday to kick start the first-of-its kind SAI–AIFF Overseas Scouting Project (OSP) where players holding Indian passports would be given a chance to showcase their mettle.
"I don’t want anyone to feel left out," said Yadav.
"The plan to travel to Dubai first is because there are a lot of Indians there who have migrated and can hold on to their passports. If this pilot project works out, we will be travelling to other regions like the USA, Germany and so on."
The AIFF has created an online portal which shall function as a platform for kids to upload their videos which would then be screened by a group of scouts trained to choose a player as per the criterion set by Adam. The boys will then be asked to appear for a trial in their country of residence and if they do manage to impress, they could be a part of the U-17 World cup team.
"This cuts down on our work. There is paucity of time and that is the reason we have created this online portal where the kid uploads five-minute odd video showcasing what he has got. If he manages to catch our attention, we will reach out to him," Yadav signed off.