Indian Football is currently on a roll. Ranked 100th as per the latest FIFA rankings, Indian Football can only think of climbing up the ladder from here.
It's been some time now that All Indian Football Federation (AIFF) has shown keenness to merge the Indian Super League (ISL) and once upon a time India's top-flight 'I-League'. According to AIFF President Praful Patel, a 'unified' national league is not far away. Hopefully, the merge will take place in 2018-19 and a new road map for Indian football will be drawn.
But, this year the ISL will see two new teams drafted making it a 10-team event. Bengaluru FC and Jamshedpur FC (official name yet to be announced) owned by Tata Steel.
Recently after the inclusion of Bengaluru FC, President of Mohammedan S.C. expressed "By not including clubs like Mohammedan Sporting, East Bengal and Mohun Bagan, ISL is depriving the Indian fans."
Do the football fans of India reckon the same way ? Or will it be one step ahead to turn a blind eye to the words of Politician cum President of Mohammedan S.C. ?
It's high time we change the perception that Indian Football is only about teams from Kolkata. It should never be about the legacy clubs alone. There is an urgent need to change the pattern and create an environment for every other club, for there are no less talent in other corners of the country. Yes, teams from Kolkata are richly funded compared to other teams but it's talent, not money, that India should go for at the moment. The most recent example being Aizawl F.C. who were recently crowned 'I-League' Champions with sheer artistry notwithstanding their low budget quandary. And, teams like BFC have the infrastructure, facilities and financial support, the factors which matter the most.
It's important that Football in India must capture the imagination of fans and built the road maps around it. It's high time. ISL has shown Indians fans are hungry for quality and calibre football.
After one year, with the onset of 2018-19 where ISL and I-League are planned to be merged, adding to that the champions of the newly introduced Super Cup, where the top-four teams of ISL and I-League would play to represent India in the Champions League qualifiers, fans can certainly see Indian football mounting sky high.
As Indian National Football Team coach Stephen Constantine once quoted, "Of paramount importance is that clubs recognize that football will stand still for no one. Move with it or get out of the way."
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ReplyDeleteWhy still 10 teams, so the ISL organisers will allow only their chaadi buddys.
ReplyDeleteThanks a ton, Sir :)
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