FIFA Secretary General Jérôme Valcke was at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi on Tuesday to watch Delhi Dynamos FC host FC Pune City. After the match ended in a goalless draw, Valcke took out time to speak exclusively to indiansuperleague.com...

How did you enjoy your first Hero ISL match today?

I think it was a great game, and would have been a greater game if there were goals! Despite that, it was very good football and what was amazing was the atmosphere in the stadium. There were 35,000+ people at the ground and the way they supported their team and the game itself was amazing. So, congratulations!

What does FIFA think the ISL can do for Indian football?

When we were presented the project and began working with the Indian Federation, we wanted to do whatever we could to promote or help the development of football in India. However, what is important is that whenever you do something at the top level, you don't forget about the grassroots programmes and to develop football at the level of the kids. That's how you build football in a country. India has huge potential. The ISL is helping; the Indian league is there as well. We must make sure that we're all together with one goal - to develop football in India and help India play in the World Cup sooner!

How is FIFA helping the AIFF in terms of grassroots development in India?

We're doing several things with the Federation. The first thing that we're doing is that we have given India the responsibility of organizing the FIFA U17 World Cup in 2017, which is a huge milestone. We are also working on a strategic plan with the AIFF on developing Indian football on a long-term basis. We also have different programmes in place to create an environment for kids to play football. I had a meeting with the Minister of Sport, and we need the support of the Indian authorities to develop more infrastructure. We need more pitches, and give all Indians more ways to play the sport in the country.

Finally Mr. Valcke, how big a draw are all the ISL marquee players going to be? How will they help the sport in India?

I think it's important because these stars are who kids everywhere are dreaming about. So it's a way to attract more youngsters to watch and even play the game. However, we have to ensure that there's a mix of local players and star players from abroad. It shouldn’t be, as we have seen at some European clubs, that none of the local players are playing in the XI. We always have to maintain a balance between local players and international stars. That's how you create strong footballers in the country.