Indian football is in a mess even though people at the helm of the game's administration may try to make you believe otherwise.
The pull-out of Mumbai Tigers from the I-League is a body blow to the sport. After shelling out a few crores to buy a team, the Tigers have inexplicably told the All India Football Federation (AIFF) that they wouldn't be taking part in the I-League due to unavoidable reasons. What was supposed to be a 16-team tournament has now been reduced to a league for 13 clubs.
The AIFF had earlier left Pailan Arrows in the lurch after making considerable noise about supporting the feeder club for India's national team. Prayag United had also withdrawn without sponsors.
India, under Dutch coach Wim Koevermans, failed to make it to the final phase of qualification for the 2015 Asian Cup. In the ongoing SAFF Cup, India's performance has been no better. After scrapping to a 1-0 win against Pakistan thanks to an own goal, India rode on Sunil Chhetri's last-gasp equaliser to hold Bangladesh 1-1 on Tuesday .
From the dire performance of the national team to I-League mismanagement, the AIFF has plenty of pressing problems on its hands.
The AIFF's coffers are empty . In a desperate bid to shore up its finances, the federation had signed a deal with IMG-Reliance for a lucrative IPL-like league that has got the thumbs down from most pundits including Koevermans.
Top clubs in the country are up in arms about the new competition, which is slated to be held in January in the middle of the ILeague. Their fear isn't unfounded because the IMG-Reliance tournament is hardly a panacea for the ills afflicting Indian football. No game can grow overnight. More importantly, no federation in the world has worked overtime to undermine its own national league.
The federation should realise that football is not cricket in India and it can't try to ape the country's top sport with a half-baked tournament. Events styled on the IPL clicked to an extent in hockey and badminton because there is not much money for the two sports elsewhere in the world. But football is a different ball game altogether; scores of Indian fans are following Europe's best leagues with a religious zeal. Bringing players past their sell-by date to India may work in hockey and badminton but not in football. In addition, the proposed IMG-Reliance league will not bequeath any longterm benefits to India, which sorely lacks grounds and academies that are vital for the development of the game.
The withdrawal of Mumbai Tigers has crushed the dreams of three Tamil Nadu players: N.Mohanraj, Kali Alaudeen and M.Pradeep. Two days ago Kali and Pradeep spoke to this newspaper excitedly about the Tigers' debut season in the I-league and their keenness to seal regular starting places. Within 48 hours, the season is over for them. The AIFF is clearly responsible for the disastrous development. After going ahead with an ill-conceived plan of selling spots in the I-League to two teams (Bengaluru FC and Mumbai Tigers), the federation has now egg on its face. The AIFF owes an apology to players affected by the withdrawal of Mumbai Tigers. It has to answer why the Tigers are allowed to pull out despite an assurance that relegation rules wouldn't apply to them.
Former India player Raman Vijayan admitted that the portents are worrying. He sees problems on multiple fronts. Vijayan lists his set of complaints.
By increasing the number of foreign players to four in the playing XI in the I-League from this season, the AIFF has dealt a severe blow to Indian prospects. The national team is already suffering from a lack of quality strikers and the prob lem will get worse in the future. Barring Chhetri, I can't think of an effective forward now. With almost all I-League clubs preferring foreign strik ers, Indian forwards will be confined to the bench forever.
The dip in quality of the nation al team is shocking. I saw Koevermans' team in a practice match in Bengaluru before their departure for the SAFF Cup and they were indeed poor. I'm not surprised by their lacklustre performance in Kathmandu.
The future looks bleak because we are not even able to beat our lowly neighbours convincingly. There is a shocking dearth of talented players all over the country. Clubs are forced to sign ordinary players for exorbitant prices because there is no other option. I don't know what the grassroots programmes of the AIFF have done to our football.
The AIFF doesn't support private clubs who want to invest in Indian football. I was at the helm of a second division club in Bengaluru last season. The owners shut down the club this season because they saw no purpose in continuing in the directionless league. Instead of encouraging private partners, the federation drives them away through its unimaginative attitude. Many owners in India are wondering why they are running clubs when there is no light at the end of the tunnel.
Clubs are spending a lot but their return is zero.
Nobody has any clue on what the rules of the I-League would be next season because the AIFF has been arbitrarily moving the goal posts.
The AIFF has no plans to help Indian coaches. On the other hand, it shows a lot of interest in grooming foreign coaches.
Some celebrated coaches of the country are jobless this season because I-League clubs are only keeping faith in recruits from abroad. What is the purpose of having so many coaches with AFC `A' licence if there are no jobs for them?