What is the financial model for such historical clubs ? Renting the premises / ground for functions Assistance / Grant from IFA Donations / fees from members for using sports facilities Sponsors if any while participating in tournaments Coaching fees from kids / junior players
@giridharan: Where were you and Somnath Sengupta colleagues at? He was one of the earliest members of IFN. Created quite a few threads and contributed some really insightful articles. Where is he these days? I have read many of his articles on The Hard Tackle and elsewhere.
We both started out at Infosys. He is at Deutsche bank now. As you know,Guy is an encyclopedia about Indian Football and Serie A which we both shared. He is in UK, I will try getting him to join us again. Gaffer tape and him were sharing a lot of useful stuff in this forum and are missed now
Lesson from the last (lost) decade: Look Brazil, not Europe
Novy Kapadia
A continent-sized nation like India needs more domestic tournaments and competitive local leagues instead of just one or two national leagues
Closing Clubs
It has been a decade of turmoil and turbulence in Indian football. From 2011 to 2019, as many as 26 major clubs, including JCT, Mahindra United, Royal Wahingdoh, DSK Shivajians, Mumbai FC and Pune FC, have shut down. Goan clubs Dempo, Salgaocar and Sporting Clube de Goa have downsized their teams and only participate in the city league. This means opportunity for local players to hone their skills is on the decline.
With so many clubs closing down, opportunity for Indian coaches has reduced drastically. At present, there are over 7,500 qualified and licensed football coaches in the country, but many of them are either under-employed or unemployed. They spend their own money (from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 2.5 lakh) to acquire an A license or Pro License degree, but struggle to get employment as there is no clear roadmap for Indian football. Quality Indian coaches are needed. They can also only develop their expertise if they get big match experience. The long-term effect of not providing Indian coaches ample opportunities could be disastrous for the development of football in the country.
Just 10 teams in the much-hyped Indian Super League (ISL) and 11 in the I-League cannot represent the whole of India, which is like a continent and not some small European country. Also, as national coach Igor Stimac says, each team in the I-League and ISL invariably have five foreigners in their playing 11, so just over a 100 Indian players get regular exposure.
Vanishing Tournaments
Over 25 all-India tournaments have also shut shop in the last two decades, including the Rovers Cup in Mumbai (last held in 2000) and DCM tournament in Delhi (last held in 1997). It also does not help that the ISL, in which all the national team players participate, has no relegation. Consequently, many Indian players lack grit, big-match temperament and do not know how to grind out a result.
This was evident in the Asian Cup and World Cup qualifying matches in 2019. On January 14, 2019, India, needing a draw to progress, fell apart in the second half in their third Asian Cup group game against Bahrain in Abu Dhabi. Bahrain attacked relentlessly. The Indian defence and midfield could not control the game and kept clearing aimlessly. This led to an 89th minute penalty kick, conceded by Pronoy Halder’s reckless challenge, which enabled Bahrain to win 1-0.
On October 15, in the Group E World Cup qualifier against Bangladesh at the Salt Lake stadium, Kolkata, India was fancied to win. However, talented Indian midfielders Anirudh Thapa and Sahal Abdul Samad could not cope with the pressure of being favourites and the massive home crowd support. Their passing went awry and Bangladesh, ranked well below India, controlled the game and were unlucky not to win. The match ended in a 1-1 draw.
India needs more domestic tournaments and competitive local leagues, like the several All-India tournaments in Kerala held annually from January till May from the 1960s till the 1990s. They were the Sree Narayana trophy in Kannur, the Chackola Cup in Thrissur, the Nehru trophy in Ernakulam and the Municipal trophy in Kollam. In Kottayam district alone there were two tournaments -- the Mammen Mappilai trophy and the KFA Shield in Changanassery.
Raj Kapoor & KFA Shield
These tournaments were such crowd-pullers that famous film actor of yore Raj Kapoor inaugurated one edition of the KFA Shield. The oldest football tournament in Kerala was the Sait Nagjee in Kozhikode. In the 1990s, the lucrative Scissors Cup was held in Thiruvanthapuram. Regular exposure helped to boost Indian football, as it provided competitive experience to numerous players, even from Punjab, which did not have a thriving local league, as well as Maharashtra, Goa and Karnataka, and helped to develop young talent in Kerala.
Legendary striker Inder Singh, Magan Singh, G.S. Parmar, Parminder Singh, Sukhwinder Singh, Bernard Pereira, Prem Nath Philip, V.P. Sathyan, I.M. Vijayan and many others came into the limelight through these tournaments.
A vast country like India needs to follow the Brazilian model of thriving state-level competitions and national leagues in the same year. Clubs can compete in both so that players get exposure of 50-60 tough matches every year. Just a single national league, whether ISL or I-League, will not boost Indian football. Developing football standards in a vast country is not a piece of cake. A lot of innovative thinking and restructuring is required as talent does not come out of the blue.
Having tasted that heavy defeat in Merdeka, India made a grand recovery in Singapore’s Jalan Besar Stadium. It was a creditable triumph in the sense that most of the top players were yet to recover fully from the injuries they suffered in Kuala Lumpur.
In the opening match against Indonesia, India trailed by a goal till the 61st minute before Habib restored parity. The match went into the extra time and Habib struck again to steer his team out of the woods.
India were at their best in the semi-final against Malaysia. They won 6-0, India’s biggest triumph over Malaysia till date. Bhowmick and Habib were in great form, having scored two goals each, while midfielder Nataraj and winger Sengupta got the other two.
The final against South Vietnam on August 28 was marred by rough play but remained goalless even after extra time. Both teams agreed to share the trophy. India, in fact, had hardly any bench-strength to carry over the challenge to the next day. So much so that Nayeemuddin and midfielder Ajaib Singh had to play in the forward line.
Closing down tournaments happened due to listening to Bob Houghton era if I remember correctly. He vociferously shouted for only Federation Cup and the National League/I-league. we shutdown most of these tournaments without thinking a proper backup strategy and this is where we landed. Strong cup tournament and League was the need of the hour, and we did neither that nor did we manage to have a backup strategy while shutting down a lot of tournaments. Now the best of Indian players get to play only about 20 matches a year and we expect to churn out results.
Based on the thread videos and pictures of indian football of 2002 wcq matches.
Had football been famous sport during the late 90's and the
millenium years, surely it would have got more attention. we failed to
catch up with the fan frenzy after the premier league broadcast in
india. many teenagers like me then became fans of european clubs but we
are never aware of happenings in indain football.
and
the shittiest part was having clubs with corporate/company name in
league. I used to laugh at some names like Mahindra United, Zee
Churchill Brothers, Dempo, Salgaocar, Indian Bank etc .
poor
football stadium pitches and that too in sunlight. Horrible standard of
broadcasting. Literally no news rearding fottball in newsparers . all these were a major factor reducing football growth.
Comments
What is the financial model for such historical clubs ?
Renting the premises / ground for functions
Assistance / Grant from IFA
Donations / fees from members for using sports facilities
Sponsors if any while participating in tournaments
Coaching fees from kids / junior players
https://outsidewrite.co.uk/podcast-football-in-india/?fbclid=IwAR1ANx4c6N7X7k8cI08t2M-sW4kRFGhuMcYgtuYPBg89hkafBDdBgReRbl4
Great Job Somnath !!
He was one of the earliest members of IFN. Created quite a few threads and contributed some really insightful articles.
Where is he these days? I have read many of his articles on The Hard Tackle and elsewhere.
All the best in our endeavour!!
Lesson from the last (lost) decade: Look Brazil, not Europe
Novy Kapadia
A continent-sized nation like India needs more domestic tournaments and competitive local leagues instead of just one or two national leagues
Closing Clubs
It has been a decade of turmoil and turbulence in Indian football. From 2011 to 2019, as many as 26 major clubs, including JCT, Mahindra United, Royal Wahingdoh, DSK Shivajians, Mumbai FC and Pune FC, have shut down. Goan clubs Dempo, Salgaocar and Sporting Clube de Goa have downsized their teams and only participate in the city league. This means opportunity for local players to hone their skills is on the decline.
With so many clubs closing down, opportunity for Indian coaches has reduced drastically. At present, there are over 7,500 qualified and licensed football coaches in the country, but many of them are either under-employed or unemployed. They spend their own money (from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 2.5 lakh) to acquire an A license or Pro License degree, but struggle to get employment as there is no clear roadmap for Indian football. Quality Indian coaches are needed. They can also only develop their expertise if they get big match experience. The long-term effect of not providing Indian coaches ample opportunities could be disastrous for the development of football in the country.
Just 10 teams in the much-hyped Indian Super League (ISL) and 11 in the I-League cannot represent the whole of India, which is like a continent and not some small European country. Also, as national coach Igor Stimac says, each team in the I-League and ISL invariably have five foreigners in their playing 11, so just over a 100 Indian players get regular exposure.
Vanishing Tournaments
Over 25 all-India tournaments have also shut shop in the last two decades, including the Rovers Cup in Mumbai (last held in 2000) and DCM tournament in Delhi (last held in 1997). It also does not help that the ISL, in which all the national team players participate, has no relegation. Consequently, many Indian players lack grit, big-match temperament and do not know how to grind out a result.
This was evident in the Asian Cup and World Cup qualifying matches in 2019. On January 14, 2019, India, needing a draw to progress, fell apart in the second half in their third Asian Cup group game against Bahrain in Abu Dhabi. Bahrain attacked relentlessly. The Indian defence and midfield could not control the game and kept clearing aimlessly. This led to an 89th minute penalty kick, conceded by Pronoy Halder’s reckless challenge, which enabled Bahrain to win 1-0.
On October 15, in the Group E World Cup qualifier against Bangladesh at the Salt Lake stadium, Kolkata, India was fancied to win. However, talented Indian midfielders Anirudh Thapa and Sahal Abdul Samad could not cope with the pressure of being favourites and the massive home crowd support. Their passing went awry and Bangladesh, ranked well below India, controlled the game and were unlucky not to win. The match ended in a 1-1 draw.
India needs more domestic tournaments and competitive local leagues, like the several All-India tournaments in Kerala held annually from January till May from the 1960s till the 1990s. They were the Sree Narayana trophy in Kannur, the Chackola Cup in Thrissur, the Nehru trophy in Ernakulam and the Municipal trophy in Kollam. In Kottayam district alone there were two tournaments -- the Mammen Mappilai trophy and the KFA Shield in Changanassery.
Raj Kapoor & KFA Shield
These tournaments were such crowd-pullers that famous film actor of yore Raj Kapoor inaugurated one edition of the KFA Shield. The oldest football tournament in Kerala was the Sait Nagjee in Kozhikode. In the 1990s, the lucrative Scissors Cup was held in Thiruvanthapuram. Regular exposure helped to boost Indian football, as it provided competitive experience to numerous players, even from Punjab, which did not have a thriving local league, as well as Maharashtra, Goa and Karnataka, and helped to develop young talent in Kerala.
Legendary striker Inder Singh, Magan Singh, G.S. Parmar, Parminder Singh, Sukhwinder Singh, Bernard Pereira, Prem Nath Philip, V.P. Sathyan, I.M. Vijayan and many others came into the limelight through these tournaments.
A vast country like India needs to follow the Brazilian model of thriving state-level competitions and national leagues in the same year. Clubs can compete in both so that players get exposure of 50-60 tough matches every year. Just a single national league, whether ISL or I-League, will not boost Indian football. Developing football standards in a vast country is not a piece of cake. A lot of innovative thinking and restructuring is required as talent does not come out of the blue.
https://foothub.in/view-blog/lesson-from-the-last-lost-decade-look-brazil-not-europe
A forgotten triumph
Having tasted that heavy defeat in Merdeka, India made a grand recovery in Singapore’s Jalan Besar Stadium. It was a creditable triumph in the sense that most of the top players were yet to recover fully from the injuries they suffered in Kuala Lumpur.
In the opening match against Indonesia, India trailed by a goal till the 61st minute before Habib restored parity. The match went into the extra time and Habib struck again to steer his team out of the woods.
India were at their best in the semi-final against Malaysia. They won 6-0, India’s biggest triumph over Malaysia till date. Bhowmick and Habib were in great form, having scored two goals each, while midfielder Nataraj and winger Sengupta got the other two.
The final against South Vietnam on August 28 was marred by rough play but remained goalless even after extra time. Both teams agreed to share the trophy. India, in fact, had hardly any bench-strength to carry over the challenge to the next day. So much so that Nayeemuddin and midfielder Ajaib Singh had to play in the forward line.
https://scroll.in/field/970415/indian-football-s-forgotten-triumph-right-after-an-embarrassing-defeat-on-independence-day-1971
Now the best of Indian players get to play only about 20 matches a year and we expect to churn out results.