The new deal will make Everton one of the first English Premier League clubs to conduct a partnership at such a dedicated and focused level in the East Indian territory.

The grassroots initiative will give youngsters an opportunity to be taught the same way as some of the Premier League's current stars including Wayne Rooney, Leon Osman, Tony Hibbert, James Vaughan and Victor Anichebe through a programme that has been proven to deliver time and time again and one that is now available online at evertonway.com.

Chief Executive Keith Wyness told evertonfc.com: "We are delighted to have agreed this new partnership with the Indian Football Association. It is currently an extremely exciting time for the game in India and hopefully our expertise at grassroots level can help shape the future of their game.

"I know the sport is becoming increasingly popular in the territory with over 30 million people watching Premier League football last season. Audiences at that level demonstrate a real appetite to adopt our established and proven methods and we are only too happy to be a part of that here at Everton."

The IFA secretary Utpal Ganguli expressed tremendous optimism with the potential of the new arrangement and added: "This is fantastic news for everyone involved with the IFA and we expect this association will have dramatic effect on improving the quality of football in Bengal."