Should IFA change their name?
archak
2082 Points
We have all heard here in Manchester a complete confusion about AIFF, IFA, PLS - the structure of Indian football. Is all this disturbing to you or are you rather happy about the international media coverage that Indian football is generating?
No doubt the coverage is good! As Jeff (Slack from IMG-Reliance) very
right mentioned in the workshop it actually shows the kind of
interest the world has for Indian football. But there are some
misconceptions about the fact if the AIFF or IFA is doing the PLS. You know as good as I do there is the problem of having two
federations named AIFF and IFA, which has been in existence for a
long time. IFA was set-up more then 40 years before the AIFF
(laughs). What can you do? I don't want a civil war by forcing the IFA
to change the name but it is causing unnecessary problems.
http://arunfoot.blogspot.com/2012/03/exclusive-interview-with-kushal-das.html?m=1
No doubt the coverage is good! As Jeff (Slack from IMG-Reliance) very
right mentioned in the workshop it actually shows the kind of
interest the world has for Indian football. But there are some
misconceptions about the fact if the AIFF or IFA is doing the PLS. You know as good as I do there is the problem of having two
federations named AIFF and IFA, which has been in existence for a
long time. IFA was set-up more then 40 years before the AIFF
(laughs). What can you do? I don't want a civil war by forcing the IFA
to change the name but it is causing unnecessary problems.
http://arunfoot.blogspot.com/2012/03/exclusive-interview-with-kushal-das.html?m=1
Comments
I dont think a separate thread is necessary for this article.
:-/
but what do you think should its name be changed???
In that case my answer would be NO. There are lot many issues already at hand. IFA changing/not changing their name is too trivial to think about
Thanks for the suggestion and as you can see changed its name.
it may seem trivial to you and me or any other regular followers but it can be pretty confusing for any newbies...
But IFA has its legacy, like IFA shield. I would not want to change the name. It is fine. if dumbo AIFF cannot assert themselves internationally, then its their problem
Anyway I think that the whole West Bengal football structure needs to be more <b> modernized</b>.
1) Change the name from "Indian Football Association" to the "West Bengal Football Association" (WBFA). This would also help in international recognition for West Bengal. All this time it should have been ONLY West Bengal getting international football headlines for BPLS or PLS but all of India has been getting it because they are IFA and not WBFA.
2) Combine the Kolkata Football League and Bengal Soccer League and form the <b>West Bengal Super League</b>. 10 of the best teams in Bengal PLUS Mohun Bagan, East Bengal, Prayag United and Mohammedan SC play in a 14 team straight league home and away state tournament. Each team should be required to have a 25-man squad and the venues must be the EB Ground, MB Ground, Siliguri Stadium and that stadium in Howarth. This would save money as only 4 stadiums would be used. Also 20 of the 25 man squad must under-25. Thus giving the youth of West Bengal more of an opportunity. Also only 3 foreigners should be allowed with 2 allowed on the pitch plus only 3 players on the team can be from outside West Bengal.
Also as an added measure the teams that are in I-League (Mohun Bagan, East Bengal, and Prayag United) should be forced to play only the under-19 players with only 4 over-19 players allowed on the team. This will give the I-League youngsters more game time.
3) Use money gained from the WBSL should go into the following... 1) Infrastructure, 2) Youth development and 3) Marketing.
4) Save money and try renovating the Salt Lake Stadium and get bucket seats in there. Start with the lower tier then build up from there. Do it in stages, not all at once.
And done. If all this is done West Bengal will truly be Football Capital of India.
AIFF should keep local associations happy...IFA-AIFF has long history of jhamelas