New Delhi, Aug 20 (PTI) The Sports Authority of India’s Governing Body on Thursday approved the establishment of a National Coach Accreditation Board (NCAB) for the governance of the country’s coaching ecosystem as recommended by a Pullela Gopichand-led Task Force earlier this year.
The SAI’s 63rd Governing Body meeting was chaired by Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, who emphasised on the need to accelerate the Talent Identification Process in the age group of 5 to 15 in view of the 2036 Olympics. The talent hunt was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his Independence Day speech.
“The plan for the next 10 years before we see the Olympics being hosted in the nation has to start in full swing right from this moment,” Mandaviya said in a statement issued by the Sports Ministry.
As part of efforts to strengthen the coaching ecosystem, the Governing Body approved the establishment of the NCAB.
The NCAB, a key component of the revamped Khelo India Scheme, will provide a more structured framework for coach accreditation and development.
The Gopichand-led panel had described NCAB as a parent body that “houses the country’s highest expertise in coaching, education, and sports governance”.
“This Board will be the apex authority responsible for setting standards, approving pathways, accrediting institutions, and ensuring long-term sustainability,” it had stated in its report.
The panel proposed that NCAB should feature the Indian Olympic Association President, the Sports Secretary, a person of national eminence with “cross-ministerial influence”, and an eminent academician with expertise in pedagogy and educational systems. SAI did not say how the process of instituting the body would unfold.
Currently, the coaching training in Olympic sports is primarily through diploma courses on offer at the Netaji Subhash National Institute of Sports in Patiala.
The Gopichand-led panel had stated that India’s coaching ecosystem is fragmented, inconsistent, and heavily reliant on individual effort rather than institutional strength.
PPP in training system =============== Mandaviya said SAI must strengthen its talent scouting mechanism and put in place a structured system for identifying athletes with the potential to progress to the highest level.
“Talent identification should happen in two distinct stages: first, identifying athletes who are performing well at the state and district levels, and then mapping those athletes to assess their potential and determine whether they possess the fitness, passion, dedication and ability to progress to the next level,” he added.
“The aim should be to build a comprehensive talent repository that can subsequently feed into sports schools and higher-level training systems,” he emphasised.
Mandaviya said there was a need to develop a public-private partnership (PPP) model to expand the training ecosystem.
Under such a framework, athletes identified through state and district-level talent hunts could be stationed at suitable academies for specialised training.
He also underlined the important role of the corporate sector in expanding sports development through greater CSR participation. PTI PM PM DDV
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