The All India Football Federation announced the launch of the Youth Football Leagues on Friday with the U-17 version, scheduled to kick off in the second week of December.

In an effort to ensure fair play, the AIFF will conduct TW3 Tests for the U-13 and U-15 Youth Leagues, starting in January, as part of a comprehensive strategy to eradicate age fraud. 

Over 50 teams are expected to participate, with direct entry granted to teams from the Indian Super League (ISL), I-League, I-League 2, and elite academies with AIFF academy accreditation.

The first round of AIFF Academy Accreditation was completed, with 32 academies from the Elite category awarded accreditation on the basis of various criteria fulfilled. The criteria included factors such as residential set-up, technical and administrative structure, medical and education provisions and other important requirements. The Advanced and Basic criteria accreditations will be completed subsequently.

To keep the National Accreditation true and fair to its objective - the AIFF plans to conduct surprise inspections for the accredited academies. Any discrepancies or non-compliance towards the criteria as per the accreditation policy may lead to the stripping of the academy's accreditation.