Tue, 30 Nov, -0001
New Delhi: A state-of-the-art FIFA Medical Centre of Excellence may be in the pipeline in the Indian capital that would provide a boost to football medicine in Asia, it was announced recently at the FIFA/AFC Football Medicine Regional Course.
The official website of the All India Football Federation, The-AIFF.com, reports that AFC Medical Committee Chairman Dato’ Dr. Gurcharan Singh (pic, left) said during the course:
“It is important to have a FIFA Medical Centre of Excellence in each and every Member Association of FIFA. In Asia, we have one in Doha, Qatar. Probably there will be one more set up in New Delhi in the next couple of years.”
Dato’ Dr. Gurcharan is a speaker in the course, along with FIFA Chief Medical Officer Prof. Jiri Dvorak (pic, second left), Prof. Brun Shane Perry from Australia, Hong Kong’s Dr. Patrick Yung and Dr. Jaspal Singhasian Sandhu of India.
The course is being held for doctors from the Central and South region of Asia with 11 doctors from the host nation also attending the programme.
The website further reports that the Dato’ Dr. Gurcharan’s statement was endorsed by AIFF General Secretary Kushal Das (pic, second right), who said: “The Medical Centre of Excellence stays a part of our developmental programme. The topic may be up for discussion as and when Prof. Dvorak meets the Health Minister and Sports Authority of India officials.”
Kushal Das further emphasised that the likes of Jiri Dvorak and Gurcharan Singh ‘would bring a lot to the table’.
“This is the first time a football medical conference is happening in India. I am privileged to be a part of it and I welcome our guests here. I am sure that the presence of renowned names like Prof. Jiri Dvorak and Dato’ Dr. Gurcharan Singh will be very enlightening for the participants.”
“FIFA’s slogan ‘Football for Health’ will gain momentum in India also and medicine is an integral part of our developmental programme.”