Mariano Dias, development manager, FC Goa, talks about his plan to create a vast pool of players.

Your football journey:

I’ve played professionally as a footballer till 1994 and took up coaching after that. I’ve worked with clubs in Goa, and was also in charge of the Goa team which won the Santosh Trophy in 2009 and was assistant coach with the Indian national team in 2011.

Your team’s focus on grassroots football:

We are thinking of several grassroots projects, which will include about 14 schools. We are looking to reach out to kids between 6-8 years of age, so we can create a vast pool of players. Gradually, we can move them into our youth development programmes and then try and turn them into professional footballers.

Your views on the Hero Indian Super League Grassroots Workshop:

I’ve been conducting such programmes earlier as well when I started coaching, but this was a very good experience with regards to how to organize grassroots festivals.

Your grassroots vision:

In India, we’ve never had grassroots football, and I really thank IMG for taking this initiative to start from the grassroots, which is the need of the hour. This is the base, and if we don’t have a strong base we can never create good footballers.

Grassroots football is where it all starts for any footballer. We have to look to attract more and more boys and girls to play the game, and that’s what grassroots programmes should be all about. More clubs should also come out with such programmes.

Your state’s unique advantages & disadvantages:

Football has been the most popular sport in Goa for a long, long time, so we have a large number of children who are waiting to get into the sport, and are waiting to see our team play with top quality players. The level of interest in the side will be huge. As for disadvantages, I actually don’t see any (laughs)!

Your team’s immediate grassroots plans:

We have already decided on 14 schools. It’s a long-term project. We are going to appoint one coach per school and conduct festivals and short tournaments regularly. All the coaches will be trained by me on how to conduct such grassroots programmes, and we will set a uniform curriculum for each school going forward.