Topical Condition of Indian Football Is Rueful…
At present, Indian football
fans are impressed by Indian football leagues. Indian football leagues are
mainly of two; ISL (Indian super League) & I-League. Both leagues have so
many merits as well as demerits. Indian super league started recently in 2014.
Even though it gained popularity from all across India, it has so many
demerits. ISL hadn’t benefitted the Indian players. ISL is only played for 3
months which tempt the players to play in other leagues. I-league started in
the past hasn’t gained much popularity. But it has been useful for the Indian
players to play throughout the year. There had been so many problems between
the ISL members and I-League members. In both leagues the number of teams is
very low, when compared to the huge diversity of nation. Lack of practice
matches for the national team also had led our football into such a pathetic
condition. Indian coaches are saying that the playing conditions in Europe are
not similar to that of India. So that similar practices can’t be done in India.
They are arguing that the South American conditions are favorable for Indians.
But may I remind you that
“None of the South American
clubs have been on the top of Champions cup for the last decades. But the clubs
in European leagues have always maintained its high position.”
Latterly, India had climbed some ranks
and reached 101. We can say that India is improving, but not so agile. So some
immediate actions are necessary.
1. Joining of ISL and I-league
· Any one league should be
classified as Major league and the second one should be considered as a 1st
division league. More teams should be there, At least one team from one state.
For E.g. 29 teams in India, Top 15 teams in Major league and next 14 in the 1st
division league. There are so many benefits due to this.
· When the number of teams
increases, the number of players also increases, which results in the swift
increasing of participation of Indian players. Popularity of football will
increase in extreme parts of India.
· Promotion and relegation rules
should be done similar to European style.
· Only four foreign players should
be played in a game representing a team.
2 . Transfer market
· Transfer market should be made
in a similar way that European leagues follow. So that players from Europe can
be bought by Indian clubs and vice versa.
· Clubs get high income of money from other
clubs who wish to buy Indian players.
3. Youth squad
· Grass root development program
in different parts of India helps to find the hidden Pele’s in the country.
· All the clubs in the ISL should
have at least one youth squad from the respective state.
· Continuous tournaments help
children to get match experience from childhood onwards.
· Under 6,8,10,12,14,16
tournaments for both boys and girls ensure India a great future in football.
4. National
team
· Regular friendly matches
increase their experience and results in high team power.
· In future, after Sunil Chhetri
we need a good Striker.
· Present Indian national team
coach, Constantine is really good. He can lead Indian team to victory, but
Indian federations have a bad habit of firing coaches.
I believe in 2030 World Cup,
India will be a contestant. But the above changes are required.