U-17 WC is a FIFA tournament. So FIFA officials must be there to note that who is entering the stadium, how many tickets sold, how many free pass given? It cannot be the situation where gates are open at half time and anyone can come. I agree with @7negi ; They have VIP, coming late and free pass culture. For first match, Modi and ministers should come and they will make stadium full.
The Fifa U-17 World Cup squad list highlights one big flaw in Indian football’s structure
With no coherent youth system among Indian clubs, there is only so much a national federation can do to further the game at the junior level.
With less than 10 days to go for the first Fifa World Cup in India, the official squad lists for all 24 teams were released on Tuesday.
The tournament will see a total of 504 young football players make their mark at a tournament that has often been the training ground for the top international players. Among the names to watch out for in the list were Brazil’s Vinicius Junior, who recently signed with Real Madrid, and Paris Saint-Germain striker Tim Weah.
But even something as simple as a squad list highlights one big flaw in the structure of Indian football. The full list of players shows something very peculiar: the startling lack of club-based backing for the Indian players.
A cursory glance at all other teams, including that of developing countries such as Ghana and Democratic People Republic of Korea, shows that most of players belong to a football club from their country and in some cases, in one of the top five European leagues. There are five Chelsea FC players in the England squad, four players from RB Leipzig in Germany and five Real Madrid players in Spain’s list.
It is only the Indian team where the bulk of players belong to the national federation. In the club column in the squad list, all but five players are listed as belonging to the All India Football Federation. Of the rest, four players were from Minerva Punjab FC and a lone name, Sunny Dhaliwal, from Toronto FC.
What does this tell us about India’s grassroots level football?
With no coherent youth system among Indian clubs, there is only so much a national federation can do to further at the junior level. Unless there are football clubs that have the resources to scout and train players from an early age, it will be difficult for Indian juniors to get the same exposure that the players they will be playing in the upcoming world cup get.
India will begin their Fifa U-17 World Cup campaign against USA on October 6 in New Delhi.
Australia last year had the majority of their team come from the FFA Centre of Excellence... and they finished dead last in a group that consisted of Japan, Vietnam, and Kyrgyzstan. For the qualifiers they have selected players from the A-League youth squads and this time killed it in their group of Mongolia, Vietnam, and Cambodia.
Talking to some of my friends from Australia who are "in the know", apparently there was a lot of "who you know" when it comes to squad and also the FFA wanted to show that money wasn't being wasted on the Centre of Excellence. Basically you made the academy based on who you know and then you are selected cause the FFA don't want to look like idiots for spending so much money.
In the end they thought "fuck it" and got rid of it after the hapless performance last year. Thankfully the squad selection for the actual national team isn't "who you know"... at least not fully (coach has favorites).
I fear you may be right. The AIFF Elite Academy and Reliance Foundation Academy are shit and will just help India maintain our level at best. We need the clubs to develop their own players but even then I can bet there will be a lot of shit that occurs.
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I agree with @7negi ; They have VIP, coming late and free pass culture.
For first match, Modi and ministers should come and they will make stadium full.
The Fifa U-17 World Cup squad list highlights one big flaw in Indian football’s structure
With no coherent youth system among Indian clubs, there is only so much a national federation can do to further the game at the junior level.
With less than 10 days to go for the first Fifa World Cup in India, the official squad lists for all 24 teams were released on Tuesday.
The tournament will see a total of 504 young football players make their mark at a tournament that has often been the training ground for the top international players. Among the names to watch out for in the list were Brazil’s Vinicius Junior, who recently signed with Real Madrid, and Paris Saint-Germain striker Tim Weah.
But even something as simple as a squad list highlights one big flaw in the structure of Indian football. The full list of players shows something very peculiar: the startling lack of club-based backing for the Indian players.
A cursory glance at all other teams, including that of developing countries such as Ghana and Democratic People Republic of Korea, shows that most of players belong to a football club from their country and in some cases, in one of the top five European leagues. There are five Chelsea FC players in the England squad, four players from RB Leipzig in Germany and five Real Madrid players in Spain’s list.
It is only the Indian team where the bulk of players belong to the national federation. In the club column in the squad list, all but five players are listed as belonging to the All India Football Federation. Of the rest, four players were from Minerva Punjab FC and a lone name, Sunny Dhaliwal, from Toronto FC.
What does this tell us about India’s grassroots level football?
With no coherent youth system among Indian clubs, there is only so much a national federation can do to further at the junior level. Unless there are football clubs that have the resources to scout and train players from an early age, it will be difficult for Indian juniors to get the same exposure that the players they will be playing in the upcoming world cup get.
India will begin their Fifa U-17 World Cup campaign against USA on October 6 in New Delhi.
And this comes after they shut down the Centre of Excellence last month: http://www.footballaustralia.com.au/article/ffa-centre-of-excellence-to-close-to-provide-greater-opportunities/1u3lpvnchqxg611pgjhoobz8w5
In the end they thought "fuck it" and got rid of it after the hapless performance last year. Thankfully the squad selection for the actual national team isn't "who you know"... at least not fully (coach has favorites).
They are also product of a centre of excellence. Excellent shits, they are.