I truly believe if Ileague was given the PR , marketing telecast glitz , 4 foreigner rule , it cud be a attraction . why create a new league ?? and proclaim birth of indianfootball as if we started playing from 2014?? If priyaranjan da wud be there he wud hv nt allowed such ruckus. We actually needed YDP of ileague clubs which was happening from this year, focus from u10 to u21 in 5 years time we cud have improved a lot.And more so get these ISL owners to form u12 u15 team at best so that they can come up with serious u23 team in 8 years and join senior ileague? Now one by one all clubs are leaving, it is getting impossible to understand the genius behind the ISL everyday.But I guess after this edition's ISL many shud look frward to opening of academies from ISL team from u12 , u15 level , but if dey dnt and hide behind Nita Ambani's 10 day ruckus at reliance live events mumbai, Indian Football has truly died.
No point holding IMG-R responsible. They are a corporate and every entity like that has a commercial agenda. Why should they buy out football rights if they don't have the power to exploit it? No reason for development to have been their primary agenda - that takes a lot more sweat and patience. It is the powers that be at AIFF who lacked the foresight to fully comprehend what could happen when you sign a deal with the devil. India is a highly populated fragmented democracy. This gives everyone a voice but not a consensus. Cricket and bollywood work like nothing else here and are the only two real unifiers (I'm excluding war).
One approach is to make the loudest noise and hope that it gets you the eyeballs and momentum to sustain that noise (ISL). Problem is that in a price sensitive, sensationalist, fast tech and economy growing nation like ours - you never know what will capture the public fancy next. Indians need an excuse to be seen as happening and on par with the west. ISL provided that option much like Manish Malhotra and Karan Johar changed Bollywood or Kerry Packer changed ODI cricket. In the long run, it remains an entertainment game and this fits into our culture brilliantly. Fact of the matter is that a large multitude of Indians are loud, love color and jazz, and all these make great ingredients for commercial success. Ask any serious businessman / celebrity in Mumbai and you will find your proposals being evaluated on metrics of print/tv/radio/social media/activations - not long term perspective on sport. And most times - it is only deep pockets that can ensure you this. One has to constantly be in the news for reasons other than sport to be successful here.
The other approach is long term - which should have been done 15 years ago. Licensing should apply not just for the clubs but also for the state associations. The real football product begins there. But no state association in this country (barring Mizoram a wee bit) has a progressive mindset. The belief is that we already have a product that works. Executive Committee members in these associations are former players with absolutely no management acumen. Some legendary players in these systems believe that because they kicked a ball in an international arena they have the god given right to dictate affairs. We have spoken in the past of infrastructure issues; but a key issue also pertains to the "soft" infrastructure play. You cannot have good students if you dont have good teachers; good classroom facilities; interactive discussions and remedial forums. A nurturing development ecosystem is completely absent. A guy completes his AFC coaching badges - much like a graduation - and gets to work. Where does he/she go for upgradation? Or interaction? Bad inputs lead to bad outputs - the criticism stays with the person providing inputs for life. We refuse to come to terms with the fact that it is necessary to fail in order to learn.
The learning component is where the governments come in. Budgets / departments in sport end up being misused in organising tounaments rather than identifying problems and creating 360 degree lasting solutions. BETTER COACHES, BETTER PLAYERS. Start small, create a good model - than organically expand. Appreciation will come from a few - but it will come. And more importantly you are creating an output that is actually good for the ecosystem rather than aggravating an already populated space.
India lacks a sporting culture. To think that entertainment options will magically make people turn to sport is fool hardy. They will watch - but will not practise. It has to be approached as a way of life - not as a temporary solution. Till we wake up as citizens that want to adopt a healthy lifestyle - sport will never be a game changer; and we will never be competitive in a true sense. Yes, one day we may host the Football WC due to our economic status as a tiger economy - and by virtue of the same qualify automatically - but that will be a sad day. This is a choice the public needs to make. Short term vs long term. Recognize sport for what it truly is and play it the way it was meant to be - like men. We need to start respecting our young domestic products - they will not play as well as the west - but our support is crucial. Discarding them shows our sense of nationality and obsession with anything foreign. There is a time for domestic and foreign players to be on the same platform - but the time is not now. Send coaching staff/management abroad to learn best practices and implement here. Then you could have the birth of a football nation.
Wonderful. Now thats a real good description of the current scenario. Sometimes we tend to overlook a long comment after reading first few lines. But this comment kept me engrossed throughout. Great job @MichaelSouza
I still believe the players will benefit from 6 years of academy life in Germany. And money or no money they are going to come out much better players. Primarily because
they get to play competitive football in and out with the very best in Germany
A lot of technical and tactical knowledge will be gained
more chances of scouting
If they stay there for 6 years at stretch , Indian football is bound to benefit.
Home and away fed cup from this year for top 8 teams of I league. Great news. would have been better if they have involved 2nd division I league teams also (via qualifiers). Anyway good news ( sorry for posting twice. wrongly posted in I league thread)
@Footydip I agree that second division clubs should have been included. But considering the winner would play in AFC Cup, licensing criteria is a problem. Also one month is too short to include more teams. Once the leagues are merged, then a proper FA Cup style Fed Cup should be organized.
Comments
I still believe the players will benefit from 6 years of academy life in Germany. And money or no money they are going to come out much better players. Primarily because
they get to play competitive football in and out with the very best in Germany
A lot of technical and tactical knowledge will be gained
more chances of scouting
If they stay there for 6 years at stretch , Indian football is bound to benefit.
( sorry for posting twice. wrongly posted in I league thread)