AIFF Technical Director Scott O'Donell resigns from his post
AFTER SERVING FIVE YEARS in a project to re-vitalize Indian football from ground up, Scott O'Donelll is about to leave India.
A few years back, when AIFF appointed Rob Baan as their first Technical Director, Scott was brought in as the Technical Director for Academies and Coach Education. In the months and years that followed, there was a boom in the number of academies operational in India. The number of licensed coaches in the country has also grown manifolds.
Participants sitting their final exam for @theafcdotcom A Certificate Coaching Course. @AiffMedia. All the best! pic.twitter.com/B6s9eDOVBW
— Scott O'Donell (@scottodonell) August 13, 2016
While there were many factors behind this growth, Scott O'Donell was one of the people at the forefront of this sea change; playing a major role in something that has resulted in stronger grassroots and superior technical training for the future generation of footballers.
Future #AIFFmedia U19 team training at Fatorda under coach Floyd Pinto. pic.twitter.com/jF677NL8f9
— Scott O'Donell (@scottodonell) May 24, 2016
Last year, when Baan left his post, Scott was promoted to his larger umbrella-like role in Indian football that helped AIFF chart a realistic roadmap for development. But his time as the AIFF TD seems to have come to an early end. Scott is looking to move on and he has put in his papers already. Search for his replacement will commence soon.
#AIFF Development Officers hard at work at #FIFA Technical Directors Course in Kochi. pic.twitter.com/lU3jjHLWbL
— Scott O'Donell (@scottodonell) February 11, 2016
Both Baan and Scott are responsible for helping Indian clubs and academies take the difficult first steps towards a adopting a more professional setup that had a heavy focus on player and infrastructure development. As such, their contributions towards Indian football have been invaluable.
