India a sleeping giant in football-Needs a pill called ‘Lakshya’.

It’s good to have former players in key positions in the affairs of the game. Baichung Bhutia has been hailed as a torch bearer of Indian football. There is no doubt that he is one player in India at the moment who can inspire a generation of youngsters. Bhutia has 107 appearances in the national jersey and scored a record number of 42 goals for the country. Baichung is also the president of ‘Football Players Association of Inida’ and here too he has doing a good job by addressing the issues affecting the players and safeguarding their rights. AIFF thought it fit to appoint him as the chairman of the Technical Committee and rightly so. The rest of the committee members too are men with vast knowledge of the game.

But the appointment of Dutch coach Robert Bann as the ‘Technical Director’ of AIFF was of more significance. Mr Bann has vast coaching experience having handled high profile teams like PSV Eindhoven (Assistant coach-1995-98), the technical director of the youth of Netherland (2005-06) and the technical director of Australia (2007-08) before he came to India. It will be very difficult to find a replacement of his caliber at the end of his contract this year. He is reported to have submitted a master plan called ‘Lakshya’ consisting of 125 pages in August 2012, to revolutionalise the game at the grassroots and help India to qualify for the World Cup 2022. Surprisingly, nothing much is heard about it and AIFF is reported to have kept it in cold storage claiming it to be very expensive, as it requires around rupees two crores per annum for its implementation. IMG Reliance, the official partner of AIFF has signed a sponsorship deal of rupees 700 crores for fifteen years which works out to around 46 crores per annum. Is there no way AIIF could spare 2 crores for ‘Lakshya’? For IMG-R a new tournament seems to be the priority.

For AIFF’s Technical Committee, youth development should be the priority to raise the bar at the grassroots which will improve our ranking in world football in due course. Has the technical committee headed by Mr Baichung Bhutia considered the plan ‘Lakshya’ submitted by Mr Bann to AIFF? Does the technical committee have a say in matters of such grave importance as this? If so, let’s hear it. Let Mr Buthia show us that former players in key positions make a difference. FIFA and other European clubs see India as a sleeping giant in football. They may not know much about Indian football but they surely know about the huge Indian market. And as such FIFA is likely to allot the ‘Under-17 World Cup,2017’ to India. Its time we take our grassroots seriously and prepare earnestly for the U-17 world Cup which should be the first step for us in world football. Fortunately most I League clubs in India have now realized the importance of youth development and its effect on their annual budget in years to come. Dempo SC, Salgaocar FC and Pune FC are some of the fine examples advocating this philosophy.

AIFF must find ways to fund the implementation of the ‘Lakshya’ plan submitted by Mr Rob Bann at the earliest. All over the world, youth development is the domain of the clubs and they have academies to produce quality footballers. AIFF must involve all the I league clubs to fund the ‘Lakshya’ plan, as it will benefit, both the clubs and country in the long run. Each of the 14 I League club may have to contribute just 15 lakhs per annum to start a revolution in Indian football at the grassroots as per the plan submitted by Mr Bann. I am sure all the I League clubs will be game for such an endeavour.

In football we often say ‘Plan to play and play according to the plan’. We have been given a plan by Mr Rob Bann, why not play accordingly?  

Scouting in Football –a crucial cog in the wheel of the game

It’s really fascinating to watch programs like ‘India’s got talent’, ‘Dance India Dance’ or a singing competition ‘Saregama’ for children on television. Their auditions at several centres in India give an opportunity to all and sundry, even the poor in remote areas can showcase their talent. Talent without opportunity is like electricity without an electric bulb.

Let’s apply this concept to the game of football in India. Are there enough opportunities to all, specially those in the far flung areas which are very often neglected? Are the selections at all levels, fair and square? Selections at the grassroots are very crucial not only to improve the standard of the game but for its very survival.  Do we have a proper scouting system in place to hunt for the real talent? These questions require immediate answers, if we are to progress and improve our standard to international level.

FIFA’s grassroots initiative in various countries is very commendable. Today with easy access to the net, it is not difficult to know what’s happening in other parts of the world. ‘Catch them young and watch them grow’ is the mantra for success. I would rephrase the same and say, ‘catch the right young and watch them grow’. The key here is to appoint the right scout to get the right talent.

In Goa, there are two government residential training centres in football, Sports Authority of Goa at Panaji  and Sports authority of India at Ponda. Government provides all the facilities which include boarding, diet and schooling to name a few. How many footballers have actually made it big after training in these centres ? The answers would actually question the very existence of these centres. I can say with confidence that the fault lies not in the centres but with the selections.  Even Sesa Goa Academy has not been able to deliver. They too must appoint the right scouts to get the best in the academy.

We all agree that sports should be managed by sportsmen themselves. At times we may not get a proper candidate capable enough to run the administrative side of the sports organization, but can’t we utilize the services of all the former sportsmen to scout and train the youngsters at the grassroots? In Goa we have several former footballers who have now retired and are available to serve the game. Those willing and fit could be employed by Goa Football Development Council (GDFC), a government initiative or Goa Football Association (GFA) to do the most important job of talent hunt, either in their own village or in the surrounding areas. GDFC has done an excellent job in opening training centres at the grassroots in remote places of Goa. They could officially appoint these veterans players as ambassadors and role models for the training centres. The young coaches at the training centres would also get to know the finer nuances of the game from these experienced footballers.

For most Indians, a sportsman out of sight is out of mind. We fail to give them their due once they are past their prime. Employing them as scouts and appointing them as ‘ambassadors’ at the local training centres could be one way in honouring and acknowledging the yeoman service done by the veteran footballers. This could also apply to other games too.

Goan Inter-Village Football- One of its kind in India.

Goa Football Association (GFA) and the Goa State have both celebrated golden Jubilees in 2009 and 2011 respectively.   Goa and Football have gone hand in hand for the past 130 years, since its inception and it would be in the fitness of things to throw some light on its glorious past.

 

The Portuguese ruled Goa for around 450 years and the football legacy which they left behind is still alive and kicking. This would lead many to believe that the Portuguese introduced football in Goa. To tell the truth, it was a visiting British priest who first brought football to Goa in 1883. Father William Robert Lyons arrived in Siolim, North Goa from Udipi,Karnataka to recover from a bout of illness that he was afflicted with at Udipi. He liked Goa very much and decided to stay back. He then opened up St Joseph School at Siolim(North Goa) and introduced football in its curriculum. Thereafter several other schools also followed and football thus gained popularity. The seminarians at Rachol Seminary, Raia were known to have a good team and once they were ordained priests, they took it to the place of their postings in the villages. This is how football spread all over Goa.

In the villages, the patrons formed clubs to promote football. The first club in Goa named ‘Boys Social Club’ is reported to be formed in the coastal village of Colva, ( South Goa) in 1905. The first all Goa tournament was organized by ‘Hindu Sporting Club’ of Mapusa, at Mapusa,( North Goa) in 1930. The Portuguese saw the huge potential in football and tried to bring in some semblance of organization of the game. As such, Associacao de Futebol da India Portuguesa(AFIP) was formed by the Portuguese in 1939. In the same year, the first ‘Goan Selecion’  was sent to Belgaum, Karnataka to play a charity match against Army Training School and raise funds for them. For about ten years, from 1939 to 1949, AFIP tried to organize football in Goa but due to lack of funds it had to be disbanded in 1949. However, ten years later in 1959, it was Lt.Joao Luis Aranha who was in the Portuguese Sports Council in Goa lobbied hard with the Government of Portuguese to form an autonomous body and manage the affairs of the game. He convinced the Portuguese Government that football in Goa has got a huge potential, highlighting the fact that Goans have passion for the game, argued that it could even generate some revenue and would not be a burden for the Portuguese Government. The Portuguese Government  relented and thus Assocciacao Futebol de Goa, now Goa Football Association, was formed  on 22^nd Deccember,1959 with Lt.Joao Luis Aranha as its first president. 

Inter-village Village football, since then, has never looked back. It has grown from strength to strength and gradually became the backbone of Goan Football. In the absence of academies, village clubs acted as nurseries, giving a platform to youngsters to showcase their talent. These village tournaments attract massive crowds and youngsters get the right kind of competitive exposure to grow in confidence at the young age. From here, talented footballers are picked up by the big clubs and thus there is a smooth transition from the junior level to senior football. 

Goan Football now at the summit owes a lot to inter-village football competitions, something very distinct and unique in this part of the world. Goa Football Association has separate Inter-Village Rules to govern these tournaments and players in Goa have to do separate registrations, one for the club and the other for the village.

Every effort must be made to preserve and improve inter-village football standard in Goa

Quo vadis-Indian Football ?

There is no doubt that India is a cricket crazy country! This doesn’t mean that there is no scope for other games and football in particular. Football in India has a huge following, given the fact that English Premier League has an annual average of around 64 million viewers in India.. Success they say has many relations, failure has none. Today with the success of cricket ‘Team India’ and thanks to BCCI’s marketing ability, one can see youngsters playing cricket in the paddy fields in Goa where once only football thrived.

One cannot deny the fact that the youth is our future. And if there is lack of interest at the grassroots, our standard will remain stagnant, as has been the case for the past several years. What is the grassroots scene in India? Take the case of Goan football. Compared to other states Goa’s youth development programme is fine. At the senior level, Goa is undoubtedly the numero uno in the game of football having won the last seven I League titles. But Goa has not performed satisfactorily in the age group competitions which clearly show that all is not well at the grassroots. The question often asked is - After Bruno Coutinho, who is next? We don’t have answers. Not many of our Goan youngsters are graduating from the junior ranks to the I League teams. Instead of supplying players to the other states, we have a huge infux of outstation players in Goa. This is an area of concern as we are not producing quality players and this has to be addressed now not only in Goa but all over India before it’s too late.

In this context, the initial intention echoed by two of the top coaches in the I League is very heartening and encouraging. Both, Australian coach Arthur Papas of Dempo SC and Dutch Mike Snoei of Pune FC have stated that their main focus will be on the youth and fortunately for them, their respective clubs are supporting them to the hilt. Dempo SC has a stake in Danish club FC Midtjylland. They are planning to have an academy in Goa with technical inputs from the Danish collaborators. Arthur Papas is also known to have worked wonders with Pailan Arrows and youth development will definitely be a priority at Dempo SC. Pune Fc has been going from strength to strength in the last couple of years. The second rank in the I league 2013 is commendable and their academy has done quite well with last two under- 20 titles under their belt. Coach Mike Snoei is under no pressure to give immediate results but has the task of overseeing the transition of players from the academy to the senior team. And when you know that the chief coaches of the clubs are paying more than a passing attention to the youth, it is a win - win situation for all the stake holders. 

It normally takes around a decade to bring in the change, the way football is played. Germany is a fine example for us to emulate. Germany reinvented itself within a decade. When they realized that their football has stagnated, drastic steps were taken in 1999 with massive investment in youth development. They opened up 121 coaching centres all over Germany for the age group of 10 to 17 and directed 36 professional clubs of Budesliga & Bundesliga 2 to open up academies. By 2010 FIFA World Cup, players like Mesut Ozil, Thomas Mulluer and others took centre stage. The final of the Champion League, 2013 played between two German clubs is surely a proof of their youth development philosophy.

More academies for youth development is the only way forward for Indian football.

 

 

 

 

 

IMG-Reliance tournament- a death- knell for I League ?

Is AIFF's decision to introduce IMG-Reliance tournament for new franchises proper, when the I-League itself is going through difficult times ?

 All over the world it’s the club culture (support) which is the mainstay of football leagues. Here in India, we are gradually heading towards professionalism by introducing club licensing. Clubs as separate entities is the right path towards professionalism and membership could be opened up for people in general to have a stake in it. That's one way to bring in the crowds for our I league, as it is happening in Kolkata. With the introduction of IMG-Reliance tournament, it is possible that in due course, the I League may be relegated to just another league and it could result in the clubs going the JCT/Mahindra way.
The need of the hour is to increase the prize money of 70 lakhs to 5 crore as suggested by Shri Churchill Alemao. This will help generate more interest in the league and the clubs too will not mind bringing in quality players from abroad if the prize money is substantial. It is a well-known fact that the J League in Japan became a huge success because they invested in the infrastructure and also roped in the legendary Zico, very popularly known as a white ‘Pele’, to attract the crowds during the initial stages way back in 1993. Zico was one of the founding advisors of J-League and had played for Kashima Antlers (Football club in the J-league). He was also used heavily in all forms of promotional material; billboards, commercials, video games and even features on television shows utilized his marketability in a country where even those not familiar with football knew his name. Zico then went on to lead the Japanese national team from 2002 to 2006 and won the Asian Cup qualifier and also led Japan to the FIFA world cup Germany 2006. Players like Gary Linekar, Michael Laudrup, Dunga,Hristro Stoichkov,Bebeto and others followed to make J League one of the best in Asia and competitive enough to be compared with the best of the leagues in the world.
The IMG-Reliance tournament will no doubt be a success temporarily, given the huge investment likely to be done by the corporates/individual, something akin to IPLT-20 Cricket but may end up destroying the immense good that the clubs have done all these years. In cricket there is neither club culture nor any club competition worth its salt and so T-20 IPL is not a threat to other competitions. Despite this, experts say that T-20 will destroy the other formats of the game in the years to come.
I am of the opinion that AIFF, instead of organising the IMG-Reliance tournament, must concentrate on the task at hand to make the I League more attractive by increasing the prize money, help the clubs to improve the infrastructure, make it more spectator friendly by having matches under floodlights and also telecast the matches live to reach out to all football lovers in the country. In addition to that we need players like Didier Drogba and others, who are on the verge of retirement, to play in our I league which will bring the crowds to the stadiums and also motivate the youngsters in our country.
We need to follow the Japanese way ( J League) and not the Cricket IPL( T-20 ) way to walk the road towards professionalism in Football.

U-17 world cup-The first step

They say India is a sleeping giant in football! The India Union Cabinet has given its nod to bid for hosting the FIFA 17 World Cup in India. What a great opportunity for Indian football! I feel frustrated when people talk about India playing the FIFA World Cup. We must acknowledge that there is a ladder of success in every sphere and FIFA-17 world cup is the first step of the ladder in the game of world football. AIFF and specially the president Shri Praful Patel must be complimented for the very sensible decision in bidding for the FIFA -17 World Cup. It would not have been possible without his political clout atleast one reason why politician at the helm of affairs matters.
It is important to have exclusive world class stadiums only for football in all the centres chosen by AIFF to hold these matches, Fatorda, Margao being one of them. Its time Fatorda stadium is kept for football and football only, now that football is the official game of Goa. Hosting such an event will greatly improve the infrastructure and the administrative capabilities of the State Associations hosting the event. It will also generate a new kind of wave and interest among the youth in India. Investing at the grassroots is the only path leading towards the ultimate ie India playing the FIFA world Cup.

I League Managers-Must have both: Qualification and Experience

Recently AIFF has decided to make it compulsory for all technical directors in the I League football teams to have ‘A license’  if they are to be in the technical area on the football pitch, from 2014-15. Four renowned coaches who have served Indian Football for a long time viz Subhas Bhowmick, Sukhwinder Singh, Subrata Bhattacharya and Bimal Ghosh, will have to pack their bags and go home. Is this decision right and fair or is it too harsh?

As we are inching towards professional football, it is important to know the set up in professional clubs all over the world. In a professional set up, the chief coach is referred to as a ‘Manager’ and under him there are specialists coaches who assist him in actual training. This is because the manager is not only involved in coaching but has several other responsibilities such as recruitment of players, managing the players on and off the field too,  technical and tactical planning in consultation with the coaches whereas a coach is mostly involved in training the players in both fitness and skills. A perfect example of a chief coach fit to be called ‘Manager’ was Armando Colaco, the former Dempo SC coach, for his overall duties which went beyond coaching. The task of recruitment of players and deciding about their salaries must be given to the chief coach as any disparity in salaries sometimes lead to grudges and can affect their performance. It’s time ‘Coaches’ are given more responsibilities and then appointed as  ‘Managers’ by the management of clubs in India, too.

In the Indian club setup, AIFF allows one ‘A License’ coach and others assisting him in the dugout. For example in the recently concluded I League, Churchill Bros Sports Club had Mariano Dias as a chief coach and  Shri Subash Bhowmick, the technical director, physio etc.  Other teams had one ‘A license’ coach and assistant coaches, physio etc. It looks like AIFF is targeting only technical directors.  What about other teams where there are no technical directors but have only assistant coaches?. This will mean that teams with technical directors must have two ‘A License’ qualified coaches whereas other teams can do with one. 

Shri Sukhvinder Singh was once found worthy to coach the Indian team but the same person is now found to be unfit to coach a club by AIFF. An inexperienced Diego Maradona was made the chief coach of Argentina in the 2010 World Cup held at South Africa and nobody dared to ask for his qualification.

To be fair to all the coaching staff in I League football Clubs, the chief coach with an A License must henceforth be called a ‘Manager’ under whom all other staff should function. It should be the prerogative of the ‘Manager’ to choose the staff working under him and he alone should decide about their qualifications. AIFF must specify the exact composition of personnel in the dugout for all the clubs so that it is a level playing field for all.