Sport & development
A place to discover your strength.
Build skills, discipline and confidence through sport. Explore a pathway that helps you take the next step.
Explore play
Eight roots. One shared ambition.
Every child deservesa place to begin.
Through sport, learning and community,
we create space for young people to grow.
Scroll to discover
Rooted in the Northeast. Open to possibility.
Our purposePeople at the heart of progress
Potential is everywhere.Opportunity should be too.
We bring sport, education and community together to help young people grow, on the field and far beyond it.
Discover our approach
A chance to become.
Your journey starts hereNo perfect start required
What bringsyou here?
You don’t need to have it all figured out. Follow your curiosity. There is more than one way to grow.
Our workFour focus areas. One whole person.
You’re more than a player.We see the whole you.
A stronger future grows when young people have the support to play, learn, express themselves and belong.
Play features supplied photography. Learn, Lead and Belong use illustrative imagery.
Our leadershipExperience across the game
People behindthe progress.
A Director who has backed Northeast football from the stands to the boardroom, and an Advisory Board that brings together club leadership, elite coaching, public policy and four decades of telling the region’s story.
01 · DirectorJohn AbrahamDirector, NorthEast Football Foundation · Owner, NorthEast United FC
02 · CEOMandar TamhaneCEO, NorthEast United FC
03 · Technical Think TankNaushad MoosaHead Coach, India U-23 · Head of Youth Development, NorthEast United FC
04 · Advisory BoardNitin A. GokhaleStrategic Affairs Analyst, Author & Media Entrepreneur
05 · Advisory BoardShardul FadnavisPartner, PwC India
Beyond the gameSmall beginnings. Open possibilities.
More than a moment
A game can opena whole new world.
Courage. Connection. A voice of your own.
Discover what you could carry beyond the field.
Find your courage.
Find your people.
Find your voice.
Your story is still unfolding
What could your first step be?
Find my next stepFrom the field. Photographs supplied by the foundation.
The possibility within
It starts with
It starts with
a game.It stays for
a lifetime.
Beyond the final whistle
What begins on a playing field can change a life. What changes a life can strengthen a community.
Explore our approachNEFF EventsOn the ground, across the Northeast
Where potentialgets its chance.
Every season, NEFF takes football to the grounds where it matters most. From a seven-year-old’s first festival to scouting that reaches all eight states, our events give young players a place to play, be seen and take their next step.
Leagues build rhythm and belonging. Trials open doors to academies and the professional pathway. Festivals make the first touch a joyful one, for boys and girls alike.
- 6,976players scouted in 2025–26
- 8states and 30 districts reached
- 107teams in the GSA League
- U7–U19age groups, boys and girls
-
GrassrootsGrassroot Festival -
LeagueArunachal Blue Cubs League -
LeagueGSA Kids & Youths League 2025–26 -
TrialsWomen’s Team Trials -
ScoutingScouting 2025–26 -
TrialsGuwahati Day Boarding Academy Trials -
GalleryFrom the Day Boarding Trials -
GalleryFrom Scouting 2025–26
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From potential to possibilitySport can open the next door
The badge. The belief.
From potential to possibility
A game can becomea future.
NEFF helps young people discover their sporting potential, develop their skills and find meaningful pathways in sport — on the field and beyond it.
01
Discover
Find your sport
02
Develop
Train with purpose
03
Compete
Test your potential
04
Progress
Build your next step
Your starting point doesn’t define how far you can go.
The journeyBuilding towards something bigger
Small steps.Long horizons.
Our founding year and the milestones
we are working towards.
- 2025Founding year
A foundation for possibility.
NEFF begins its journey in Meghalaya, bringing sport and opportunity into one shared mission.
- 2026Planned milestone
Find the next generation.
District-level talent drives that give young athletes a chance to be seen.
- 2027Planned milestone
Open the next door.
Pathways towards academies, national camps and university programmes.
- 2030Long-term ambition
10,000 lives touched.
A goal of reaching 10,000 athletes, across 100 districts, with 500 pathway placements.
A little time. A new possibility.Try something today
Don’t just be inspired.Make a start.
Five minutes. Your own pace. Simple activities for learning, confidence and connection.
Your next chaptercould start here.
Explore confirmed opportunities. Each opening will explain who it is for and how to take part.
Explore the opportunities page for current availability.
For the people cheering them on
Big dreams needreassuring answers.
For parents and guardians: understand participation, explore online activities, and find the questions to ask before joining.
Get involvedThe next chapter needs you
