Bengal adjudged top performer under AIFF performance assessment of states

Bengal was on Thursday named as the best performing state by the All India Football Federation under its performance assessment system based on various criteria like grassroot development, conduct of leagues and other competitions.

Maharashtra and Kerala were declared second and third respectively under the point-based assessment system that indicates the performance of the states on the various operational verticals. The operational verticals based on which points have been allotted are coaches education (AIFF D-Certificate courses), grassroot development consisting of AIFF Golden Baby Leagues and AIFF E-Certificate Courses, AIFF Academy Accreditation endorsements and Referees Education (through Cat 3, 4 and 5 courses).

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Based on the points accumulated for the 2019/20 football season, the best performing states were picked. The points allotted to the states were based on the activities carried out by the governing associations. All the three best performing states had development officers deputed and funded by the AIFF. AIFF general secretary Kushal Das said the ranking system was "very well defined and fair in line with the strategic goals of the AIFF".

"The appointment of Development Officers by AIFF in different states has added immense value and states like Karnataka and Tamil Nadu have shown significant improvement from the previous years and hopefully will soon be ranked amongst the top in future years," he said.

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