New Delhi, Apr 28 (IANS): It was on April 2 that the All India Football Federation (AIFF) had kicked off the #FitWithIndianFootball campaign in a bid to inspire and promote fitness among fans with the entire country locked down as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Over the course of the month, it has garnered 1.56 million impressions across social media platforms and has seen wide participation, both male and female, from across the nation and across all age groups, a statement from AIFF said.

The campaign videos have recorded a combined total of 431K video views -- an average of 86.4K views per video, along with 187K engagements in all.

The initiative was spread across two-and-a-half weeks and featured the likes of Bhaichung Bhutia, Sunil Chhetri, Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Sandesh Jhingan, Ashalata Devi, Aditi Chauhan, Jeje Lalpekhlua amongst others, showcasing and explaining exercises that one can execute at home with a football, and in the process, encouraging fans to do the same to stay fit, and healthy.

The AIFF had earlier held an online referee's course, and also facilitated another online meeting for coaches to discuss the future course of action.

Director-General of the Sports Authority of India (SAI), Sandip Pradhan had also lauded the joint initiative of the AIF and SAI to use the period of the country-wide lockdown to hold a 13-day Online Coaching Refresher Course.

The course will see as many as 20 different sessions being held, with the course coming to an end on May 2.