Friendship cup football tournament

Friendship Cup Football Tournament: FIFA World Cup-winning German legend Lothar Matthaus delivered a clear message for the future of Indian football during his visit to the city, stressing that the nation’s progress hinges on improving the quality of coaching at the grassroots level.

Reflecting on the recent achievements of smaller nations on the world stage, Matthaus pointed to Cape Verde’s qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. “When you see Cape Verde for example, they qualified (for FIFA World Cup 2026), it's a country with 5,00,000 people and then I ask you, you will not tell me they have better and more talents than the players from India, but you have to work very well together, federation, with the government, with the football clubs, with the academies and you have to find the right teachers, teachers mean coaches,” he told reporters here.

Drawing an analogy between education and football development, he added, “This is the same in the school, when you have a good teacher and a good professor, you get good students, when you have good coaches in the youth age and later in the age of over 18, then you will get better players and then you get better players, you will make better results and this can be the way for the Indian football in the future.”