In this episode of Backstage with Boria, Gurpreet Sandhu, captain of the men’s national football team, shares his thoughts on the grim realities of Indian football. He talks about uncertainty around the league, the ripple effect it will have on the future of football in India, the impact inside the Indian football ecosystem, the need for Indian players to fight for their own competition and why he is still optimistic that India won’t go a full season without having its own league.
Boria: How are you dealing with this whole football situation?
Gurpreet: Wishing the viewers a very Happy New Year. Coming to your question, it’s evidently a very grim situation, and being a player, there are only so many things that you can do. We were sitting on the sidelines waiting for some positive development so making the video (save Indian football) was the only thing we could do from our side. This video was not just made for the players but for the whole ecosystem, and the players just tried to exercise whatever influence they have to create awareness about these unprecedented issues.
Boria: Can you give me a sense of how young players are dealing with this situation?
Gurpreet: Players like us have a substantial environment around us to soften the blow but I cannot begin to imagine what the aspiring footballers or the ones who just turned professional must be going through in this tough phase. So, we need to look out for everyone in the ecosystem.
Boria: Any story of such an individual that you have personally come across?
Gurpreet: A lot of these staff have little idea of how bad the situation really is and it is detrimental to tell them that the salary their household is operating on is not very reliable. So, we try to keep them motivated by keeping their trust that things are being looked at and worked on.
Boria: Do you have the motivation to keep training?
Gurpreet: It is honestly very hard because there is nothing we are moving towards. And as players, we only know how to play football and do not have an MBA or a PhD. And at the peak of our careers, we don’t really think of life after football. I somewhat still keep training because if the league suddenly starts one day, then at least I will be a bit prepared to adjust. And even if the league starts, we have no idea what the format would be, so that is another side of the uncertainty.
Boria: If the players fail to perform, everybody will blame them without understanding what they have gone through in the last nine months of no matches.
Gurpreet: There is no point in explaining it to a person who has never kicked a football in their life how difficult it is for an Indian player to go outside India and play. People who say so should know that it is not that easy. To be honest, European players are not keen to come to India and play. Also, foreign clubs would not suddenly be interested in replacing their player with me. So, players who can go and play for foreign clubs should go for sure, but we should also fight for our own league.
Boria: How is going to foreign clubs a solution?
Gurpreet: I’ll not say that BFC is not going to work out, so let’s go somewhere else in India to play as 13 other clubs are also going through the same thing. We need to create awareness and demand an Indian league for our Indian sports scenario. We need to think about the youngsters who just signed a contract, women’s team who are on the verge of qualifying for the World Cup – we cannot just take away the stage.
Boria: Do you feel there is hope at the end of all of this?
Gurpreet: I am a very optimistic person and I know for a fact India is a sporting country and we cannot go a season without a league. At least, the ripple effect of that would not be good. So the clubs, federation and everyone is doing their bit and trying to make this happen.
Boria: I will hope for the best and for you to get more power, strength to come out of this.
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