Indian football witnesses off-field developments

NEW DELHI: It hasn't been smooth sailing on the field but off it there have been many positives for Indian football, especially the AIFF's Rs 700 crore commercial deal with IMG-Reliance that is expected to pave the way for a better future for this sport in the country.

In the year of the World Cup, the All India Football Federation took an important step towards developing the sport at grassroot level by investing in it, something that should have happened a long time back.

The year also witnessed a change in guard at the Football House when Kushal Das succeeded Alberto Colaco as the general secretary of the AIFF. His appointment raised expectations and rekindled hope.

Das, a former chief financial officer with International Management Group (IMG) and the International Cricket Council (ICC), is expected to bring in more professionalism into the functioning of the AIFF.

Under the leadership of Das and President Praful Patel, AIFF sold its sponsorship and marketing deal for a whopping sum for a period of 15 years.

However, there is nothing much worth mentioning as far as individual achievements were concerned in the year 2010, except, prolific national team striker Sunil Chhetri nearly realised his great American dream when he was called for trial by Major League Soccer club, Kansas City Wizards, only to miss out on final selection.

But another good news came in the way of getting a national team T-shirt sponsor. Thanks to the three-year deal which stated that India have to play at least six international matches in a year, Bob Houghton's boys, as part of their preparations for next month's Asian Cup, got opportunities to play against some of the higher ranked teams in Asia.

Continuing with its exposure trips, the national team toured Portugal where the players got opportunities to train in world class facilities and play against the second and third division clubs in the Iberian country. This was the third time over the past four years that Houghton and his boys travelled to Portugal.

Keeping an eye on the future, the apex body also formed a I-League team of its own named AIFF XI, a squad made up of teens and a little beyond with the aim of testing these youngsters and groom them for top international tournaments by exposing them to the rigours of 26-match home and away league and club them against some of the top sides in the country.

While Indian football took some important steps away from the field, the national team struggled whenever they took to the field.

The performance of the national team in the international friendlies over the past couple of months has been galling.

The team, which has been practicing hard in Dubai since the first week of November, started their tour on a sour note going down 0-2 to Iraq. The team plunged to the depth of despair after they were humiliated 1-9 by Kuwait. More disappointments were in store as Houghton's strugglers got another royal bashing, this time a 0-5 drubbing by UAE.

A spate of injuries to almost a dozen players including skipper Bhaichung Bhutia, striker Sunil Chhetri, NP Pradeep and reserve goalkeeper Arindam Bhattacharya made life worse for the team management.

The fast-rising casualty list within the team was perceived to be one of the reasons for the unfortunate spat between Houghton and team manager Pradeep Chowdhury.

With less than a fortnight left for the Asian Cup, the biggest cause for concern at the moment is Bhutia's injury.

The skipper has been laid low with a calf muscle injury on his right leg and, as a last-ditch attempt to achieve match fitness before the continental showpiece, had sports medicine expert Kannan Pugazendhi, flown in from Chennai.

The days prior to the Dubai sojourn were slightly better as India got the better Namibia and Vietnam in the friendlies, though they faced defeats against Thailand on home as well away leg, and also against Yemen and Hong Kong.

While there was nothing to cheer about as far as the performance of the senior team is concerned, the women exceeded expectations by winning the inaugural edition of the SAFF Women Football Championship that concluded in Dhaka recently. Their campaign included some comprehensive wins over countries like Sri Lanka, Bhutan and Pakistan.

The performance of the under-23 team in the Asian Cup also deserves a mention. Coached by the experienced Sukhwinder Singh, the juniors dished out a spirited performance to qualify for the pre-quarterfinal from a tough group comprising of defending champions Qatar, Kuwait and Singapore.

The team lost to Japan 0-5 in the next stage but by then, it did enough to raise hopes of a bright future.

As far as world football is concerned, the year truly belonged to Spain. The Spaniards gave a good account of themselves and deservedly lifted their maiden World Cup trophy in Soccer City, Johannesburg, on July 11.

Jose Mourinho led Inter Milan to their maiden treble winning the Champions League, Serie A and Italian Cup. Inter ended the year on a positive note when they triumphed in the club world cup recently.

FIFA, under Sepp Blatter, continued to make new grounds, awarding 2018 World Cup to Russia and 2022 edition to Qatar.

Controversy and confusion, however, reigned supreme after the world governing body awarded the finals to the two countries.

The governing body was caught in the biggest scandal since its existence following allegations by the media that two FIFA executives were prepared to sell their votes for cash. To save its face, it later suspended the two and fined six officials.

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