If salaries are less, then less youngsters would be interested to take up the game, and if too high, then the more talented ones would not venture outside the country, thereby limiting the chances of upgradation (individual or in totality).
I think the ideal situation should be that salaries remain on the lower sides, except for the really talented like Chhetri; so that players have someone to look up to.But alongwith the low salary band, there should be numerous job opportunities (at the clubs) for a player, so that the supply line is unclogged.India being a populous country, lots of youngsters would come to football if there are surety finding a club to play for.
In other words, a maximum 16-team national league, a minimum 16-team second division, and thriving state leagues below it. And foreigners only in top divisions. Also, transparent player recruitment, insurances and other things.
"In other words, a maximum 16-team national league, a minimum 16-team second division, and thriving state leagues below it. And foreigners only in top divisions. Also, transparent player recruitment, insurances and other things."
That is very difficult to implement... very, very difficult, specially effectively.
I have painted the fully blown situation, not the immediate situation. We may start with 8-10 team leagues at both the levels, and expand in 6-8 years. Div I is no problem as of now. For Div II, what is needed is careful choice of clubs, and I am sure we do have 8 second tier clubs. There should not be promotion-relegation at least for first 2-3 years. Incentive for Div II clubs shall be lateral entry in Fed Cup, which should be div I clubs + top 4 Div II clubs.
State leagues are already there in Goa, Bengal, Kerala (KPL), Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland, and few more states. These are to be strengthened and new ones started with sops like more grants.
Main issue would be to corner sponsors and broadcasters, where your adjectives are applicable. But we already have a title sponsor, and in view of a single league, the product would be more lucrative. So we won't have much problem. What is needed is to club the Div II and Feed Cup in the package. State leagues anyway are popular with the local sponsors and broadcasters.
For those who feel that 10 lakhs is less, I wonder how much you want them to get. Just see the quality that they bring to the game. Its utter shit. We cant have clubs going bankrupt to fill the pockets of these mediocre players.
I hope u are not expecting a Chief Engineers salary of ship, for these half baked players. :P
Dominc agreed with you I think some of the players who has capabilities to play in some Asian league are not going outside because in India they got overpaid by the clubs & if they go outside they get less money )
@Deb_Ban Still hard to do, and don't know why you feel the need to mention adjectives.
I know what you meant is the "eventual dream" of sorts, I would love it as well, hell, maybe a 3rd division/zonal division in between the 2nd Division and state leagues would be cool but the mechanics are hard, even if some people have talked to officials personally and those officials said it's not hard.
You first have to get the current situation and future roadmap under control. What is happening right now? What are the benefits? How do we move on from here? Where do we want to go? Other questions which I will annoy you guys with.
Like, division 1, not exactly "no problem". We have three I-League clubs gone, an ISL that is 3 months and teams mismanaged, a little more than they should be. We have to eventually "merge" the leagues but no one is exactly sure of how that is going to happen. We have heard a lot from the AIFF and certain people involved with the AIFF on how they plan to do it but nothing from IMG-Reliance and STAR Sports other than that they know one league will be needed... who calls the shots? IMG-Reliance and STAR Sports. That is not to mention the current "proposed plan" for the merger which involves Mohun Bagan, East Bengal, and Bengaluru FC and also how we have yet to witness a franchised, close league which opens for pro/rel.
As for the state leagues, grants are a good idea, how they will be used is the question. Nagaland had a league, we have not heard anything for three years. Manipur is still unorganized, as is Kerala. Even Calcutta seems to be falling down. I want to fund the state leagues, even put them all under one umbrella instead of having them be separate entities, create a domestic cup from them but it would take either a massive reshuffle or lots of changes.
I still believe slow and steady is the way of the game and radical changes to the entire system is needed on all levels, this needs to start between 2016 and 2019/20.
I.M VIJAYAN FC Cochin ceasing to exist was a big loss to not just the players but the audience too, the performance of the team was that good. The management was unable to handle the club well. I played for FC Cochin for three years but was paid my salary for just one year. Two years of salary remains unpaid even now. I wanted a club from Kerala to be sustained, so actually often paid them from my pocket.
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I hope u are not expecting a Chief Engineers salary of ship, for these half baked players. :P
I.M VIJAYAN FC Cochin ceasing to exist was a big loss to not just the players but the audience too, the performance of the team was that good. The management was unable to handle the club well. I played for FC Cochin for three years but was paid my salary for just one year. Two years of salary remains unpaid even now. I wanted a club from Kerala to be sustained, so actually often paid them from my pocket.