Indian Football: Indications of Right Direction

For the first time in the history of Subroto Cup scouts of clubs have been witnessed. 15 players from the under-17 group have been reported to be called for trials by various clubs plying their trade in the I-League. Subroto cup was conceptualised to primarily unearth the existing talents at the school level and to encourage the young talents to be competitive. With the exception of Bhaichung Bhutia no other marquee player has been spotted via this tournament. However, the fault does not lie with the tournament but rather lies in the structure of club football in India and the mind-set of those governing it. Indian mind-set is such that it looks for profit before it invests. So was the case with most of the major clubs who did not want to invest in nurturing talented players but rather invested in established players who they think would deliver the desired results. Due to this the government’s initiative and investment in nurturing talent through the Sports Authority of India did not pay any dividend and failed miserably.

India was one of the most powerful footballing nations in Asia till the early 1970s. They were the Asian champions and had even done well in the Olympics. The spread and rise of cricket pushed it to the sidelines. Now new excitement and enthusiasm among the football lovers is being witnessed. The new mood is to a large extent a contribution of globalisation and cable television. Players of European clubs have become household names and the rags to riches stories of some have helped many in India to visualise a success stories for themselves. As football is seen as an area of market extension with unbound profit making potential, corporates and businessmen are lining up to invest in clubs. Memorandum of understanding with different European clubs, especially English clubs are being signed.one of the areas of such partnership is for opening football schools. Liverpool and Manchester United have already opened schools in collaboration with other Indian clubs or business franchises. All these have led to the commodification of a social capital.

What this has subsequently done is, it has brought about professionalism in Indian football. I-League has been going on for more than a decade now but not until recently the All India Football Federation had urged the major clubs to fulfil the norms of professionalism. Basic minimum facilities were absent in the field, players contracts were not respected, salaries of the players were not paid and under payment of the agreed amount was the norm. This discrepancies in wage payment led to the establishment of players association to fight the battles against the clubs who had till now dominated and exploited the players. To make matters worse national league was started without making any improvement in the existing structure of the game and its governing body. In haste to start the national league and to not let go the lucrative deal with the television channel licenses to the clubs were provided without examination of the fulfillment of the required conditions.

Things have started to change. All the clubs have been warned to fulfill all the conditions required to get the license under the guidance of Asian Football Confederation. Only one club is close to satisfy all the requirements and others have been asked to do so within a stipulated time frame. If this happens then Indian football, in terms of its skill and marketability, will be able to fulfill the potential which many optimistically argues it to possess.

In this context the presence of scouts in Subroto Cup matches makes sense. Many football fanatics wants to take the game in the right direction which over the years has been hampered by the big club syndicates and the political mileage the President of the AIFF gains without doing anything worth mentioning for the benefit of the game. If such steps of spotting talents at the school level tournaments and the proposal of having university league from which players will be given a chance to represent some of the I-league clubs are taken seriously and sincerely then Indian football may again rise to its erstwhile position in Asian Football. When a country like Tahiti can make it to the elite Confederation Cup, with its limited resources and population, football lovers in India can also dream of such achievement, if the clubs and the governing bodies at different level of the structure acts in a dedicated, determined and disciplined manner and supports such initiatives and further expands the initiative of scouting talents.