Bhubaneswar-based Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS) has unrolled 
itself back to international glory in the field of sports. None other than the 
FIFA, world's premier governing body for football, showed the willingness to 
realign its ties with the KISS with the objective to strengthen the cooperation 
in the 'Football For School' initiative in Odisha and later to make a pan-India 
outreach in South Asia as well.  

    A letter of intent has been signed in this regard between Youri Djorkaeff, 
CEO, FIFA Foundation, and Dr. Achyuta Samanta, Founder, KISS. The document 
broadly sets out terms for both entities to commit to investigating avenues of 
opportunity together – particularly concerning the extension of the Football 
for Schools programme, which is already active across ten FIFA Member 
Associations, said a statement.

    FIFA has selected KISS as the nodal agency for the promotion of football as 
it was encouraged by Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik's big emphasis on 
promoting sports as a whole.  

    In October last year, KISS announced the launch of India's first-ever FIFA 
Football for School Programme in association with FIFA.

    The latest development seeks to take the engagement between FIFA and KISS, 
a KIIT constituent, to a new level. According to the letter, KISS will act as 
knowledge hubs for Football for Schools training, and logistical hubs for 
Football for Schools balls distribution.

    Speaking at the occasion, Mr. Djorkaeff said: "It is with great pride and 
excitement that today we sign this letter of intent with the Kalinga Institute 
of Social Sciences. FIFA Foundation's Football for Schools programme was 
launched to positively impact the lives of 700 million children.

    "Football is the global game, and we have already seen the power it has to 
unite, inspire, and educate in every corner of the world through the work 
already done by this programme. I am certain the collaboration we have set in 
motion today with help enhance that further still and I welcome the 
opportunities it will undoubtedly bring to millions of children across the 
region," Dr. Samanta said in his reaction. Dr. Samanta praised Chief Minister 
for promoting sports in a big way in the State and being a constant source of 
encouragement for all sportspersons. Also Football aficionados and lovers of 
the game have welcomed the FIFA-KISS latest initiative and congratulated Dr. 
Samanta for the collaboration.

    "The programme is on its way to achieving that goal and is active in South 
America, Africa, East Asia, the Caribbean, and the Arab world. The partnership 
we are officialising here today is the next step on the journey in India and 
South Asia," he said  

    About KISS: 

    KISS is the world's largest fully free residential school and university 
for indigenous children, with 30,000 residential students and 30,000 studying 
on satellite campuses. It has already provided a platform for many 
sportspersons with state-of-the-art facilities.  

    Swiss Member of Parliament Dr. Niklaus Samuel Gugger is the Global 
Ambassador of KISS.

    Media Contact:
    Dr. Shradhanjali Nayak
    director.pr@kiit.ac.in 
    +91 674 2725636 

    Photo: 
https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1821807/Dr_Achyuta_Samanta_Youri_Djorkaeff_Sign_MoU.jpg



  
    Source: KIIT