Let's not become emotional

The last time I had covered a football match at the Salt Lake Stadium was in September, 2011, when Lionel Messi came with the Argentina team during their international friendly against Venezuela.

Covering a football match was never a pleasant one in the Indian stadia. 

The Calcutta venue had never been an ideal place for either the scribes or spectators — the empty floors just below the media box always remained flooded with plenty of fresh urine samples; during and after the match rowdy fans would spit or drop empty flower vases from the top.

No wonder then families avoided such venues where lack of security had always been pathetic. Getting them engaged was the biggest challenge.

Sport is an entertainment which AIFF and its associated state units couldn’t fathom. All they wanted was a gallery packed with Bagan- East Bengal fans.

If the ISL helps stakeholders understand that the sport can comprise an afternoon or evening’s entertainment for the family, it will raise the profile of Indian football. For that to happen, toilets must be clean, refreshments available, comfortable seats and a full-proof security.

Last Sunday, the new tournament started with a new hope. The glamour and glitz gave rise to a belief that Indian football has a great future ahead. The concoction of bollywood, cricket and corporate was served to the outside world, brandishing India’s booming economy.

But the moot question is whether it’s going to be a sustainable product. Whenever any big non-cricketing event happens in India, it creates a buzz and then fizzles out quickly. The AIFF general secretary, Kushal Das, described this competition as an adrenaline boost. But with Indian football, where we’re mere pushovers at the international level, we shouldn’t be emotional.

Recently, Sourav Ganguly, owner of Atletico de Madrid, said that no sport, other than cricket, can guarantee a future in India, leading him to feel that his football venture may never break even.  

The sport can get better if all the eight franchisees contribute to the game’s growth. Till now, all the money-infested teams have talked big about the glamorous event, but none had said anything about the grass-root programmes and infrastructure.

We need to ask ourselves, ‘do we’ve enough grounds for a village youngster to kick around’ or ‘do they’ve free access to the limited facilities’?

Zico, Alessandro del Piero, Nicolas Anelka are definitely big names in football world. They’ll raise their team’s profile in ISL, but sustained grassroots development and stadia are the two most important things that Indian football need right now.