"What FIFA is saying that has always been our take. The AIFF is best-placed to find the solution for Indian football. Outsiders can only advice but implementation depends on only practicality," Das told PTI.
"Clubs can only come through meritocracy and and they have to provide financial guarantees that the league doesn't suffer in the event of a club shutting down. They ought to fulfil all the criteria. We can't just support a 16-team expansion," he added.
1) Indian clubs who have sustained Indian football for years are outsiders but FSDL/Reliance, the commercial partners of AIFF and who call the shots in Indian football today simply by the power of pelf and by means of a dubious agreement are not
2) The parallel running of two leagues that has been continuing, and is likely to continue for 3 more years, is extremely practical
3) ISL clubs have been selected on the basis of merit
4) The league has not suffered because of I-League clubs like Mahindra, JCT, Royal Wahingdoh, Mumbai FC, Pune FC and other clubs shutting down because they did not provide financial guarantees. Since the ISL clubs have provided financial guarantees to AIFF, the league would not suffer even if they shut down/relocate to some other city under another name.
A public hiding is what these guys need!!
CAS seems to be the only option left for Indian football, even that seems to very bleak.
As I said its not a winnable fight. Ileague clubs can wait it out, ISL is a failed product, Delhi Pune are a shutting down, NEUFC is also done after end of current season. If ATK fails this season too, that will test Marwari football passion.
A write-up (excerpted) about Phil Brown's experience in India during his stint as FC Pune City coach. I found it to be a refreshing change from the usually condescending and derogatory description of Indian lifestyle that we notice in many (though not all) of the foreign players and coaches who have plied their trade in Indian football. Though his narration partakes a touch of exoticism in his description of Indian food and festivals, it is more than redeemed by his efforts at understanding a lifestyle and culture that is different from his own. The assimilative tone of Phil Brown shows that not every European views India through colonial blinkers.
Having taken over in December, Brown stabilised Pune and led them to a respectable mid-table position last season. And describing his experience off the pitch, Brown speaks with the wonderment of a teenage gap year traveller.
"I’ve never sampled anything like it. It’s an unbelievable, almost indescribable culture. The best bit without shadow of a doubt is the people. The way they are. I fully imagined it being different but never as different as what I’ve actually sampled. The biggest commodity of an individual is their smile. And it doesn’t matter what condition they are living in, they absolutely love life to the full."
Brown has been determined to throw himself into the Indian lifestyle, and even cancelled training one day in March to take part in the Hindu Holi festival.
"I’d arranged for a training session one morning when my business manager came over to me and said: 'Do you realise it’s Holi weekend?'" Brown recalls. "I went, 'no'. "Then I saw it for myself, and they just party - not party like we do, like getting hammered on whisky - it’s about celebrating life's colours and spices. They cover themselves in all sorts of colour. So I sacked training and everybody went to this party, and I joined in. It was absolutely phenomenal."
Phil Brown (right) took his FC Pune squad and staff to the Holi festival in March CREDIT: PHIL BROWN
It is all some contrast from the more sedate life Brown lives when he is back in England - he shares a home in the Cotswolds with his girlfriend, with his two grown-up children living in the north - as he will be until pre-season training begins this month. Being back in the UK also means taking a break from authentic Indian cuisine, which has been a journey of discovery for Brown - a far cry from the youngster growing up in Tyneside who used to frequent the South Shields 'Curry Mile'.
Since moving to Pune, a few hours' drive from Mumbai, Brown has made sure the chefs at the hotel where he lives treat him to the full gamut of Indian food. "Oh my, I can’t begin to describe it," he says. "The breads are the most important parts of the meal. They do chapati and all sorts that you mop up the sauce basically.
"It’s absolutely different from what we're used to in England. On one of my last days there before coming back, he made us this fish from Delhi and it had been marinated for 10 or 12 hours in almost like a crust on top of the fish. I was like 'wow, this is unbelievable'. You wouldn't expect this in an Indian restaurant in England, no chance.
"And don't get me started on the breakfasts. They have the masala dosa and I would never in a million years have had that before but it’s probably as close as dammit to a pancake. With sort of fried mash potato in it."
Brown's passion for food is obvious, but it is clear, too, that his true love remains football. He insists that the standard of the Indian Super League should not be under-estimated, and is enjoying the respect and willingness to learn of his players. "I’m there on the training ground with 25 players hanging off my every word - I don’t think that’s the case in England," he adds."
He didnt talk much about Football or competition or junior indian players / techniques, future long term goals. Nothing. All he remember is Masala Dosa
Comments
"What FIFA is saying that has always been our take. The AIFF is best-placed to find the solution for Indian football. Outsiders can only advice but implementation depends on only practicality," Das told PTI.
"Clubs can only come through meritocracy and and they have to provide financial guarantees that the league doesn't suffer in the event of a club shutting down. They ought to fulfil all the criteria. We can't just support a 16-team expansion," he added.
https://www.firstpost.com/sports/fifa-acknowledges-complex-issues-in-indian-football-urges-i-league-clubs-to-work-closely-with-aiff-7123701.html
So according to KD
1) Indian clubs who have sustained Indian football for years are outsiders but FSDL/Reliance, the commercial partners of AIFF and who call the shots in Indian football today simply by the power of pelf and by means of a dubious agreement are not
2) The parallel running of two leagues that has been continuing, and is likely to continue for 3 more years, is extremely practical
3) ISL clubs have been selected on the basis of merit
4) The league has not suffered because of I-League clubs like Mahindra, JCT, Royal Wahingdoh, Mumbai FC, Pune FC and other clubs shutting down because they did not provide financial guarantees. Since the ISL clubs have provided financial guarantees to AIFF, the league would not suffer even if they shut down/relocate to some other city under another name.
A public hiding is what these guys need!!
CAS seems to be the only option left for Indian football, even that seems to very bleak.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2019/08/05/exclusive-phil-brown-indian-gap-year-premier-league-dream-does/
Having taken over in December, Brown stabilised Pune and led them to a respectable mid-table position last season. And describing his experience off the pitch, Brown speaks with the wonderment of a teenage gap year traveller.
"I’ve never sampled anything like it. It’s an unbelievable, almost indescribable culture. The best bit without shadow of a doubt is the people. The way they are. I fully imagined it being different but never as different as what I’ve actually sampled. The biggest commodity of an individual is their smile. And it doesn’t matter what condition they are living in, they absolutely love life to the full."
Brown has been determined to throw himself into the Indian lifestyle, and even cancelled training one day in March to take part in the Hindu Holi festival.
"I’d arranged for a training session one morning when my business manager came over to me and said: 'Do you realise it’s Holi weekend?'" Brown recalls. "I went, 'no'. "Then I saw it for myself, and they just party - not party like we do, like getting hammered on whisky - it’s about celebrating life's colours and spices. They cover themselves in all sorts of colour. So I sacked training and everybody went to this party, and I joined in. It was absolutely phenomenal."
It is all some contrast from the more sedate life Brown lives when he is back in England - he shares a home in the Cotswolds with his girlfriend, with his two grown-up children living in the north - as he will be until pre-season training begins this month. Being back in the UK also means taking a break from authentic Indian cuisine, which has been a journey of discovery for Brown - a far cry from the youngster growing up in Tyneside who used to frequent the South Shields 'Curry Mile'.
Since moving to Pune, a few hours' drive from Mumbai, Brown has made sure the chefs at the hotel where he lives treat him to the full gamut of Indian food. "Oh my, I can’t begin to describe it," he says. "The breads are the most important parts of the meal. They do chapati and all sorts that you mop up the sauce basically.
"It’s absolutely different from what we're used to in England. On one of my last days there before coming back, he made us this fish from Delhi and it had been marinated for 10 or 12 hours in almost like a crust on top of the fish. I was like 'wow, this is unbelievable'. You wouldn't expect this in an Indian restaurant in England, no chance.
"And don't get me started on the breakfasts. They have the masala dosa and I would never in a million years have had that before but it’s probably as close as dammit to a pancake. With sort of fried mash potato in it."
(Excerpted)
Source: Ganashakti
FERW calls on FIFA to work on fixing issues in Indian football
https://ferw.eu/sports-politics/ferw-calls-on-fifa-to-work-on-fixing-issues-in-indian-football/