Odisha became the 7^th state to welcome Footy within their borders and the Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS) deserves a bulk of the credit for helping ARFAI achieve the same. ARFAI, in partnership with KISS, have agreed to introduce Footy to 1500 children in the state of Odisha over the course of 2015, assisted by the Direct Aid Program (DAP) from the Australian High Commission.

ARFAI officials will be coaching senior players of KISS who will in turn coach batches of children aged between 10-16 years. A state tournament will be held in Odisha to gauge progress and to give the children a taste of competitive Footy action. Outstanding performers from the state tournament will get a chance to represent their state in the ARFAI National Championships 2015 in Kolkata.

The participation at the introductory session exceeded the projected numbers. The number of coaches at the introductory session was 60, 50 more than the 10 planned in the project. Such was the enthusiasm that ARFAI decided to increase the number of coaches to 16, who would go on to coach 1600 children.

ARFAI will hope to forge a sustainable partnership with KISS which will help us develop a structure in Odisha to promote and develop Footy further in the eastern state.