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Mumbai, Nov 17 (IANS) Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Monday said the state government is implementing the ‘Maha-Deva’ football initiative to provide players from rural and tribal areas an opportunity to prove themselves at the international level.
He said that this will provide an international platform to athletes from rural areas.
He was speaking at a meeting between the Department of School Education and Sports, Maharashtra Institution for Transformation (MITRA) and actor Tiger Shroff.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed in the presence of the Chief Minister.
According to the government statement, actor Tiger Shroff has been appointed as the ambassador for five years.
“The ambitious ‘Maha-Deva’ football talent development initiative has got a major boost, with Bollywood actor Tiger Shroff agreeing to serve as the brand ambassador of the project for five years. ‘Maha-Deva’ is an initiative to identify football talent among boys and girls in the state and develop them holistically. The main objective of the program is to identify 30 boys and 30 girls from the state through the scouting network of the Western India Football Association (WIFA). To select girls and provide them technical training, academic support and opportunities at international level,” the government statement said.
World football superstar Lionel Messi will also be involved in the MITRA initiative.
Therefore, the Maha-Deva initiative will gain greater status at the international level as well, the statement said.
An MoU was signed ahead of Lionel Messi’s visit to Mumbai.
“Tiger Shroff will be involved in public awareness, promotional material, public events, digital campaigns related to the event. All promotional material will be released only after his prior approval. The actor’s association will help in giving a new direction to the football culture in the state and will also provide new opportunities and support to young footballers,” the government statement said.
–IANS
SJ/KHz