Sports in India is on an upward curve. Not that the Paris Olympics returns were as expected, it was not a drastic fall from previous achievements either. In several disciplines, Indians have maintained a standard close to the world level. If there is one story of minimal progress in a popular sport, it has been in football. The national team has achieved close to nil in important events.
It’s not that expectations are sky-high in India when it comes to the most widely followed game on earth, but there were hopes that there would be some development. Considering that hockey has reclaimed its place among the world’s elite by clinching bronze in successive editions of the Olympics, badminton has shot from nowhere to prominence, shooters are there near the top and wrestlers have won medals in five successive editions of the Olympics, football was expected to get somewhere. Not in the World Cup, but somewhere close at least.
The picture, rather, is one of grave despair. The senior men’s team has lost six and drawn three of the games played this year and scored a mere two goals in those. They failed to beat a lowly-rated Afghanistan side in two attempts on home soil, losing once. The Afghans were without at least 10-12 of their first-choice players. Most recently, India could not beat Mauritius in the Intercontinental Cup in Hyderabad. Before that, India lost to Bangladesh in the U-20 SAFF Cup.
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Other than underwhelming performances on the pitch, the All India Football Federation has also not made the headlines for the ideal reasons. The parting of ways with coach Igor Stimac turned out to be acrimonious and the AIFF finally had to settle for a hefty amount of around Rs 3.5 crore as compensation. There was no termination clause in his contract renewed last year and the AIFF members asked for an inquiry into this at a meeting held in Hyderabad on Tuesday.
There have also been instances of misgivings in its internal functioning. Bhaichung Bhutia resigned from the technical committee in protest against non-consultation in important matters. His point was that while appointing the coach for the national team, the opinions of technical committee members were not taken into account.
It’s an open secret that knowing that a big sum will have to be paid to Stimac, the AIFF appointed Manolo Marquez as the coach of the national team. The terms, conditions and circumstances of the appointment were such that Goa FC would pay the salary of the coach until March next year. If that was one of the primary concerns, then it doesn’t reflect well on the AIFF.
There have also been instances of whimsical administrative decision-making. A general-secretary was appointed with a handsome salary and expelled after a few months. Participation of the national U-19 team in the I-League was discontinued. In Tuesday’s meeting, it was decided that the U-20 team will play in the competition. It was announced that foreigners will not be part of local leagues. Kerala objected. If sources are to be believed, they were given an exemption. If the AIFF backtracks on its own decisions in the blink of an eye, where is continuity?
It’s not that Indian football has not received the boosts a sport needs. There has been sufficient funding from sponsorship deals. Otherwise, the state associations would not have been offered an annual grant of around Rs 20-25 lakh. The Indian Super League has garnered a lot of eyeballs. Media coverage of domestic football has grown over the last few years. This means that at least a few sources of encouragement and nourishment are active.
But by and large, it has been a story of non-performance when it comes to the real deal. From under 100 in the FIFA rankings, India has slid to 124. The national team can hardly score a goal. And then, inter-club transfer rumblings grab the headlines. Why should the Anwar Ali controversy become the foremost talking point instead of football? These are questions that Indian football has to answer. Until then, it will keep exploring the lows.