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?