'Given the pollution in India, how do you expect kids to become footballers?'
It is not just money or passion for the game that are key for a nation to achieve football glory but clean air, good healthcare and training at grassroots, with opportunities to ply your trade in the best leagues in Europe, says Simon Kuper, who has co-authored the widely acclaimed book Soccernomics with economist Stefan Szymanski. He tells John Cheeran that India could take a lesson or two from Iceland and build fields where kids can play:
Football remains a European/Latin American game so does that leave countries such as India and China, even though they are fast growing as economic powerhouses and capable of throwing money at the game, without ever having a chance to win the World Cup? What India and China need to do if they want to start winning is to focus on the grassroots, more than on the national team. There isn't much point in paying huge salaries to big-name foreign coaches to coach your national team, as China did with Marcello Lippi. By the time players are working with him, they are already in their twenties and almost fully formed. Nor do you need a strong domestic league to have a good national team. In fact, India and China will improve once their best players start leaving young to play in the world's strongest leagues - that's where they will get better, not playing at home.
The main secret to success is what even quite small western European countries like Portugal and Iceland do: get huge numbers of kids playing football in fields near their homes, with qualified coaches, passing on the best cutting-edge western European knowledge, and then wait to see who turns out to be good. You also need good healthcare so that you don't have large swathes of your population who aren't in good enough health to be top-class athletes, as is the case with India (though obviously that's tragic for many reasons beyond football). India and China simply don't have enough fields for kids to play football on. And given that Indian cities are some of the most polluted on earth, how can you expect kids growing up there to become footballers? It's a remarkable fact that Iceland with 320,000 inhabitants probably has a better team than the world's four largest countries, China, India, Indonesia and the US. Key is Iceland's location in western Europe, at the heart of football's best knowledge exchange - and the fact that Iceland is a European social democracy which supplies almost all its people with resources to reach their potential.
So the keys are: 1. Accessing the latest western European tactical knowledge (it's not by chance that Western Europe won the last 3 World Cups) and 2. Getting kids playing with good coaches. That's how economic might can translate into quality one day.
Still you bet on Japan, Iraq and the US becoming kings of the game in future. Could you explain? The thesis is that over the long term, other countries will learn western European tactical knowledge - put very broadly, how to close off space when you don't have the ball, and how to open up space when you do. The key is making rapid passing triangles on the field - football as a kind of geometry. Once Japan and the US master that, then with their huge populations and great wealth they should be able to catch up with Europe. Already they are generally between about 10th and 20th in the world. But I'll admit that catch-up has taken longer than we thought it would when we published the first edition of Soccernomics in 2009.
As for Iraq, in Soccernomics we have identified the Middle East as a region that overachieves in football relative to these countries' populations, wealth and football experience. In the latest edition of the book, we show that Palestine, Jordan and Syria are massive overachievers too. So if the Middle East ever became a more functional region, it could really be world-class in football--but that's a big if.
How do you explain the huge fan following the global game has in India (people would know the ManU XI or the Argentine squad but remain clueless about the national side) and the national team’s abysmal performance on the global stage? Is passion and hunger not enough to create football heroes? Passion and hunger definitely aren't enough to create football heroes. As described above, you have to have knowhow - and lots of kids playing hours a day rather than just watching. Think of the deep nuanced knowledge that Indians bring to cricket - that's what Germans, even in amateur clubs in small towns, bring to football. But the passion for football that seems to have come to India after about 2000, spread chiefly by TV, is a good start. Now kids will want to grow up to be Messi. But you don't give them the chance to do it.
'Given the pollution in India, how do you expect kids to become footballers?'
There is a new league—ISL—in India with a smattering of European players who are past their prime. But the nation does not share a border with a soccer superpower as you make a condition for global success in Soccernomics. Does it mean that India then will have to form an XI from its European and north American diaspora to make a presence in the World Cup? That would probably work well. It's working for Morocco - they are here with a starting XI that will probably be entirely European-born. Algeria shone in 2014 with a squad that was three-quarters European-born. Having just seen Saudi Arabia play, I would suspect that with a mostly UK-born Indian diaspora team you'd have a very good shot at qualifying from Asia - given how weak the competition is there. True, UK isn't the perfect place to draw your footballing diaspora from - in an ideal world there'd be millions of German-raised Indian kids - but in football terms it's better than any other Asian country for now.
With the World Cup set to have 48 teams in 2026 onwards, will it make a viable—economic and sporting—proposition for India to bid for the World Cup? I don't think you have any world-class sporting stadiums yet. I also don't see the point in building them. You'd be left with lots of white elephants afterwards, like South Africa was after 2010. No World Cup is ever a viable economic proposition. The $13 billion or so that Russia spent on this World Cup is money it didn't spend on schools, hospitals, etc. The tourist boost that countries expect from World Cups always turns out to be illusory. If you want a good sporting proposition, start by building cheap simple all-weather fields for kids.
What does the rise and qualification of Iceland, a rich, tiny nation, tell us about football and World Cup? That the key is to be based in Europe - that's where the knowhow is. Also, around 2000, in an attempt to improve the population's health, Iceland built several hundred all-weather football fields around the country that everyone can play on. Most Icelandic schools have one. And they spent a lot to train Icelandic coaches. It's a lot cheaper than funding a World Cup, and it's a good anti-diabetes strategy at the same time.
Pele’s prediction of an African nation winning the World Cup by 2000 remains a dream. Will it ever happen since Soccernomics argues that economic might is an important ingredient for success in football? I don't see it happening in my lifetime, though given the randomness of World Cups - you stumble luckily to four wins in the knockout stages and you're there--it's feasible.
Unpredictability is the essence of football as you remind us in Soccernomics. Yet only eight teams have won the World Cup. Who would be your pick to reach the 2018 final? Eight teams in 20 World Cups is actually quite a high number. As for forecasts, in 2014 I predicted Brazil, so now I've stopped making predictions.
No one expects Argentina to win 2018 World Cup. How will history judge Lionel Messi if such a thing happens even though data analytics might point out that he is the greatest ever to play the game? He'll still be the best. A World Cup isn't the ultimate testing ground of football quality. The standard here is much lower than in the 32-team Champions League. Look at Saudi Arabia in the opening game - They sent 9 players to the Spanish league last year, and most couldn't even get a single minute of playing time in Spain's second division. A World Cup just matters more, offers more glory, because of nationalism and because it's the global carnival. It's true that Messi hasn't excelled here. It's not just that he hasn't won it - he hasn't even had one excellent performance against a top-class team at a World Cup. But you should judge his career over about 1000 matches, not the 10 or 15 he's played at World Cups. He's the best, just playing in a mediocre national team. Anyway, they could win.
What Rubbish by Times of India. That person whose interview was taken, Simon Kuper, did not utter a single word about pollution yet they made a click-bait headline of pollution in India and trying to connect it with football.
And given that Indian cities are some of the most polluted on
earth, how can you expect kids growing up there to become footballers? This is the sentence
Yeah but this was the stupid question by the journalist which the guest ignored in his answer. Yet the headline of the interview is this question only !!!
The All India Football Federation’s League Committee met at the AIFF Headquarters in the capital on Wednesday to discuss topics concerning the Hero I-League, AIFF Youth Leagues and the 2nd Division League.
The League Committee was chaired by AIFF’s Senior Vice President Subrata Dutta and all members of the committee were present in the meeting.
It was proposed by the Committee to start the Hero I-League in the third week of October. The Committee also proposed to send a circular to all Hero I–League clubs, regarding of basic infrastructure requirements for live telecast of Hero I-League matches. The individual clubs will have to get the infrastructure of the venue ready by mid-September as per the circular.
It was also stated, that the Hero I-League will continue during the AFC Asian Cup but matches will not be held on dates that India plays.
Regarding the foreign player rule, the committee decided to keep the regulations same as last year and abolish the rules governing the Asian player quota. Teams can now sign any six foreign players without signing any Asian quota player in the 2018-19 season.
However, from 2019-20 season of the Hero I-League the foreign player registration will be reduced to a maximum five.
The committee also decided that the AIFF will pay ₹45 lakhs as the subsidy to Hero I-League teams for participation.
Regarding the AIFF Youth Leagues, the committee was apprised about the suggestions of the Special Committee meeting held in Mumbai on June 07, 2018 regarding age verification of players in the U-13 and U-15 Youth League category.
The AIFF League Committee agreed to the suggestions made by the Special Committee, suggested preparation of entire protocol document, and place it to appropriate committee of AIFF for necessary approval.
The Committee decided to not approve multiple teams with the same owners to play in the AIFF Youth Leagues with the exception of Sports Authority of India (SAI) teams.
Comments
Bengaluru home to great football heroes
Since 1948, when SA Basheer played at the London Olympics, the city has produced some of India’s most distinguished players.
Six of the historic 1948 barefoot squad in the London Olympics were from this city.
In all, 12 Olympians have emerged in football from Bengaluru.
The city has regularly produced international stars.
'Given the pollution in India, how do you expect kids to become footballers?'
It is not just money or passion for the game that are key for a nation to achieve football glory but clean air, good healthcare and training at grassroots, with opportunities to ply your trade in the best leagues in Europe, says Simon Kuper, who has co-authored the widely acclaimed book Soccernomics with economist Stefan Szymanski. He tells John Cheeran that India could take a lesson or two from Iceland and build fields where kids can play:Football remains a European/Latin American game so does that leave countries such as India and China, even though they are fast growing as economic powerhouses and capable of throwing money at the game, without ever having a chance to win the World Cup?
What India and China need to do if they want to start winning is to focus on the grassroots, more than on the national team. There isn't much point in paying huge salaries to big-name foreign coaches to coach your national team, as China did with Marcello Lippi. By the time players are working with him, they are already in their twenties and almost fully formed. Nor do you need a strong domestic league to have a good national team. In fact, India and China will improve once their best players start leaving young to play in the world's strongest leagues - that's where they will get better, not playing at home.
The main secret to success is what even quite small western European countries like Portugal and Iceland do: get huge numbers of kids playing football in fields near their homes, with qualified coaches, passing on the best cutting-edge western European knowledge, and then wait to see who turns out to be good. You also need good healthcare so that you don't have large swathes of your population who aren't in good enough health to be top-class athletes, as is the case with India (though obviously that's tragic for many reasons beyond football). India and China simply don't have enough fields for kids to play football on. And given that Indian cities are some of the most polluted on earth, how can you expect kids growing up there to become footballers?
It's a remarkable fact that Iceland with 320,000 inhabitants probably has a better team than the world's four largest countries, China, India, Indonesia and the US. Key is Iceland's location in western Europe, at the heart of football's best knowledge exchange - and the fact that Iceland is a European social democracy which supplies almost all its people with resources to reach their potential.
So the keys are: 1. Accessing the latest western European tactical knowledge (it's not by chance that Western Europe won the last 3 World Cups) and 2. Getting kids playing with good coaches. That's how economic might can translate into quality one day.
Still you bet on Japan, Iraq and the US becoming kings of the game in future. Could you explain?
The thesis is that over the long term, other countries will learn western European tactical knowledge - put very broadly, how to close off space when you don't have the ball, and how to open up space when you do. The key is making rapid passing triangles on the field - football as a kind of geometry. Once Japan and the US master that, then with their huge populations and great wealth they should be able to catch up with Europe. Already they are generally between about 10th and 20th in the world. But I'll admit that catch-up has taken longer than we thought it would when we published the first edition of Soccernomics in 2009.
As for Iraq, in Soccernomics we have identified the Middle East as a region that overachieves in football relative to these countries' populations, wealth and football experience. In the latest edition of the book, we show that Palestine, Jordan and Syria are massive overachievers too. So if the Middle East ever became a more functional region, it could really be world-class in football--but that's a big if.
How do you explain the huge fan following the global game has in India (people would know the ManU XI or the Argentine squad but remain clueless about the national side) and the national team’s abysmal performance on the global stage? Is passion and hunger not enough to create football heroes?
Passion and hunger definitely aren't enough to create football heroes. As described above, you have to have knowhow - and lots of kids playing hours a day rather than just watching. Think of the deep nuanced knowledge that Indians bring to cricket - that's what Germans, even in amateur clubs in small towns, bring to football. But the passion for football that seems to have come to India after about 2000, spread chiefly by TV, is a good start. Now kids will want to grow up to be Messi. But you don't give them the chance to do it.
'Given the pollution in India, how do you expect kids to become footballers?'
There is a new league—ISL—in India with a smattering of European players who are past their prime. But the nation does not share a border with a soccer superpower as you make a condition for global success in Soccernomics. Does it mean that India then will have to form an XI from its European and north American diaspora to make a presence in the World Cup?That would probably work well. It's working for Morocco - they are here with a starting XI that will probably be entirely European-born. Algeria shone in 2014 with a squad that was three-quarters European-born. Having just seen Saudi Arabia play, I would suspect that with a mostly UK-born Indian diaspora team you'd have a very good shot at qualifying from Asia - given how weak the competition is there. True, UK isn't the perfect place to draw your footballing diaspora from - in an ideal world there'd be millions of German-raised Indian kids - but in football terms it's better than any other Asian country for now.
With the World Cup set to have 48 teams in 2026 onwards, will it make a viable—economic and sporting—proposition for India to bid for the World Cup?
I don't think you have any world-class sporting stadiums yet. I also don't see the point in building them. You'd be left with lots of white elephants afterwards, like South Africa was after 2010. No World Cup is ever a viable economic proposition. The $13 billion or so that Russia spent on this World Cup is money it didn't spend on schools, hospitals, etc. The tourist boost that countries expect from World Cups always turns out to be illusory. If you want a good sporting proposition, start by building cheap simple all-weather fields for kids.
What does the rise and qualification of Iceland, a rich, tiny nation, tell us about football and World Cup?
That the key is to be based in Europe - that's where the knowhow is. Also, around 2000, in an attempt to improve the population's health, Iceland built several hundred all-weather football fields around the country that everyone can play on. Most Icelandic schools have one. And they spent a lot to train Icelandic coaches. It's a lot cheaper than funding a World Cup, and it's a good anti-diabetes strategy at the same time.
Pele’s prediction of an African nation winning the World Cup by 2000 remains a dream. Will it ever happen since Soccernomics argues that economic might is an important ingredient for success in football?
I don't see it happening in my lifetime, though given the randomness of World Cups - you stumble luckily to four wins in the knockout stages and you're there--it's feasible.
Unpredictability is the essence of football as you remind us in Soccernomics. Yet only eight teams have won the World Cup. Who would be your pick to reach the 2018 final?
Eight teams in 20 World Cups is actually quite a high number. As for forecasts, in 2014 I predicted Brazil, so now I've stopped making predictions.
No one expects Argentina to win 2018 World Cup. How will history judge Lionel Messi if such a thing happens even though data analytics might point out that he is the greatest ever to play the game?
He'll still be the best. A World Cup isn't the ultimate testing ground of football quality. The standard here is much lower than in the 32-team Champions League. Look at Saudi Arabia in the opening game - They sent 9 players to the Spanish league last year, and most couldn't even get a single minute of playing time in Spain's second division. A World Cup just matters more, offers more glory, because of nationalism and because it's the global carnival. It's true that Messi hasn't excelled here. It's not just that he hasn't won it - he hasn't even had one excellent performance against a top-class team at a World Cup. But you should judge his career over about 1000 matches, not the 10 or 15 he's played at World Cups. He's the best, just playing in a mediocre national team. Anyway, they could win.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/sunday-times/all-that-matters/given-the-pollution-in-india-how-do-you-expect-kids-to-become-footballers/articleshow/64616352.cms
This is the sentence
India set to play Saudi Arabia, China in run-up to AFC Asian Cup
"We are in talks with them and it's almost 90 percent. We are trying to arrange one home and one away game around October-November," Das said.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/football/top-stories/india-set-to-play-saudi-arabia-china-in-run-up-to-afc-asian-cup/articleshow/64634357.cms?utm_source=whatsapp&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=TOIMobile