New balls please – will India kick it like Germany?

On January 31, German Ambassador to India Michael Steiner hosted Oceania's footballer of the century and former Bundesliga champion Wynton Rufer on the lawns of the German Residence in New Delhi. Wynton Rufer was accompanied by some thirty Indian kids of his Delhi based YMCA football camp.

Kick-starting the football diplomacy, Ambassador Steiner said, "India is a cricket nation. And yet, India is also more and more into football. Wynton Rufer and the kids of his camp are the best prove for that."

"Football unites both our countries: Germany is a traditional soccer giant, having won three World Cups and three European Championships. India is a rising soccer giant in Asia, having just won the Nehru Cup 2012. Robin Dutt, the sports director of the German Football Association DFB, the biggest world-wide, has Indian roots. German football professionals train Indian players in Kolkata and Mumbai. All in all, very good conditions for a thriving Indo-German football cooperation."

"My personal dream is that India will kick it like Germany one day – and, who knows, we will see the first football match ever between India and Germany."

Together with YMCA, the German Embassy supports Wynton Rufe'’s football camp.