AIFF announces new motto and direction

India’s national sporting body for football, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) has announced a new motto – ‘Indian Football. Forward Together’ along with a new direction for the organisation.

The new motto and direction represent the core views of the organisation which are to promote, grow and develop football within India. The AIFF also said that the motto links up with the key values of the organisation – passion, respect, leadership, teamwork, integrity, professionalism and inclusivity.

The AIFF launched four key pillars as a part of the new brand direction. The key pillars are -developing the game, progressive, modern and driven and ambitious.

The new motto also represents the AIFF’s goals of driving development of football forward, from the lower levels of competition up to the national representative teams.

“The entire country is going through a period of lull especially when it comes to sport. AIFF has already taken the first step to bring back sporting activities in the country and it is only becoming possible because all the stakeholders are working seamlessly and tirelessly in this direction,” President of the All India Football Federation, Praful Patel said in a statement.

“With the new motto in place, our objective is to streamline these efforts in our communication with all the stakeholders. Even the smallest unit in the chain plays an important role.”

The first pillar of developing the game affirms the AIFF’s commitment to the development of football. The AIFF said that this includes coaches, referees, clubs, leagues, regional federations and tournaments.

The second pillar is ‘progressive organisation and team’. The federation said that this pillar represents a forward thinking mindset along with an intent to work with fans and stakeholders as well as being inclusive.

The third pillar focuses on the federation wanting to be a modern organisation with the AIFF wanting to move forward via technology.

The last pillar, ‘driven and ambitious’ represents a commitment to the AIFF developing the sport on and off the field.

“We have been doing an immaculate amount of work starting from developing grassroots to the national teams. Slowly but gradually, by working together, I am sure we will be able to achieve great things while establishing a pipeline of young talent for the Indian football team. Forward Together is the most inclusive way of defining it,” General Secretary of the AIFF, Kushal Das said about the new direction.

The new motto and brand direction was launched on Monday.

Avatar
Daniel Foley is a sports junior journalist with Soccerscene. He reports widely on football policy and micro industry matters.

Dandenong Thunder to enjoy $700,000 LED lighting upgrade at George Andrews Reserve

Dandenong Thunder lighting upgrade

Greater Dandenong Council and Dandenong Thunder have recently confirmed that works have commenced for new powerful lighting towers to be built at George Andrews Reserve.

The upgrade will cost $700,000 and is being jointly funded by Greater Dandenong Council ($500,000) and the State Government ($200,000) with a plan to improve the ground’s overall quality for both training and matches. They formerly had 200-lux LED towers and they will be replaced by 500-lux towers.

For the Greater Dandenong local council, the focus was to improve the facility for the community to enjoy the health and wellbeing benefits through the increased amount of playable hours at the reserve.

Importantly, the project ensures that the Thunder have a ground that is up to professional competition and broadcast standards which means they can broadcast and host games that are viewed by a national audience, a huge step forward for the NPL Victoria club.

This broadcast upgrade also opens up the possibility to expand to national matches involving the Melbourne Victory and Melbourne City A-League women’s teams and an even more ambitious goal of hosting a Matildas game. The ground can easily hold 5000 people and the lighting and broadcasting standards will be fantastic after this upgrade.

Dandenong Thunder shared the positive implications this light upgrade has for the club.

“The new lights mean the club will be able to host a number of games, not only that but it’s a step forward to the clubs ambition to be part of the NSD (national second division),” a club spokesperson told Soccerscene.

“The support from local council has been nothing but fantastic, Dandenong want to be a sporting hub for the south east suburbs.

“With the FA cup we have seen A-League clubs play at local level clubs, having these new high powered lights we will be able to broadcast at a higher quality, no more yellow light broadcast.”

This news presents an exciting future for Dandenong Thunder and the matches played at George Andrews Reserve. The quality of training, matches and broadcasts has improved tenfold and it matches the size of the NPL Victoria side that have big ambitions.

CPKC and Kansas City Current’s major stadium naming rights deal a win for women’s sport

CPKC Stadium design

The world’s first professional female-football dedicated stadium – home of the NWSL’s Kansas City Current – will be known as CPKC Stadium, after an historic naming rights deal was agreed with the North American rail network company.

Formed as a merger between Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern rail networks in July this year, CPKC represents the first trans-North American rail network between Canada, the United States and Mexico.

CPKC has been a leading investor for women’s sports in the state of Kansas, and CPKC President & CEO, Keith Creel, was proud to announce the stadium naming rights deal.

“We are incredibly proud to sponsor the Kansas City Current and support this history-making project here in the city that is at the heart of our North American rail network,” Creel said via press release.

“CPKC has been a long-time champion of women’s sports and of investing in our communities. This stadium and this partnership with the Current will build on that legacy as together we write a new chapter here in Kansas City.”

CPKC will also hold naming rights to the stadium’s outdoor space for fans, which will be known as CPKC Plaza. This area provides entertainment for all CPKC Stadium attendees, including the KC Current’s official merchandise store.

It is hoped that the naming rights deal will kickstart further investment in women’s football across the region, which has been the cornerstone of the KC Current’s existence according to co-founders and owners, Angie and Chris Long.

“Our [KC Current & CPKC] organisations share a commitment to strive for excellence, invest heavily in our communities and raise the bar with global influence. We are extremely excited to work with CPKC on this historic agreement and know our partnership will create a long-standing positive impact!”

Further to its substantial investment in women’s football, CPKC’s establishment of a direct line between Canada, the United States and Mexico is expected to have substantial benefits for football supporters attending the 2026 Men’s FIFA World Cup.

Presently, though, the stadium naming rights deal demonstrates CPKC’s intention to be a key investor in women’s football across Kansas and North America.

Most Popular Topics

Editor Picks

Send this to a friend