The North East Football Association (NEFA), a conglomerate of football associations from various states in the Northeast, was floated to oversee the development of football in the region.
The football associations came into agreement to form the new body following a convention of football association officials from each state of the Northeast which was held in Shillong on Wednesday.
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The convention discussed the future of football in the eight states of the region.
The newly appointed leaders of the North East Football Association are – Larsing Ming Sawyan as president from Meghalaya, vice-presidents – Menla Ethenpa from Sikkim, Hemendra Nath Brahma from Assam, Lalnghinglova Hmar from Mizoram, general secretary Kipa Ajay from Arunachal Pradesh and treasurer, Amit Chowdhury from Tripura.
Manipur and Nagaland will appoint a joint secretary each.
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The convention took cognizant of the fact that the Northeast is a hotbed of football talents in the country, and such talents should be developed at a greater pace as well as to solve different problems faced by each state.
The association will oversee the development of football in the northeastern states and liaise with the central and state governments as well as work to set up a new football competition that will be held among the northeastern states.
The association shall respect and work alongside the existing All India Football Association calendar.
It will look to augment the development of football in the Northeast alongside the efforts of the AIFF in football development.
It will also look to provide necessary aids to the state associations that are lagging further behind.
Newly-appointed NEFA president Larsing Ming stated that the northeastern states held an integral place in Indian football and they have the potential to develop even further at a higher level.
“There are states that have seen steady developments in football, while there are states that lag behind. It is the responsibility of all here to ensure their development is up to pace with everyone,” said Ming.
“We will reach out to the Central government to see that we have progressed in all the areas for potential development.”
“Devotees for football in the Northeast have stepped up for a North Eastern Association to come into existence, and we should not be an association that raises its voice just for the sake of raising. We need to ensure our voice and our step go alongside each other,” the NEFA president said.