Rahul Chandawarkar is a Colva based journalist and former editor. He is a recipient of the Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism award for 2009
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There are only a handful of Goans in the FC Goa team and even they are brought into the game for just ten-15 minutes. This is unfair and unhealthy for the growth of Indian football
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With no clear solution to the ISL, I-League conundrum, Indian football finds itself in a state of flux. On one hand, two premier Goan clubs, Salgaocar and Sporting Club de Goa have walked out of the I-League, while on the other, Bengaluru FC, the top I-League team has become the first ever Indian team to reach the finals of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Cup. Meanwhile, FC Goa coach Zico has recently slammed the ISL format stating that it is not benefitting Indian footballers, while another noted coach Steve Copell of Kerala Blasters has questioned the objectives of the ISL and Indian football captain Sunil Chettri has recommended a unified 20-club Indian league for the good of Indian football.
If you piece all this information together, you more or less get an idea of the state of Indian football. Things were not so bad, when the I-League was the main league in the country. The I-League followed all the AFC rules and had youth academies, training grounds and long term plans in place. Goan clubs, Salgaocar and Sporting Club de Goa are prime examples of this. The I-league as it was played over a five-six month period was also on par with the other popular leagues of the world, namely, the EPL, La Liga, Bundesliga etc. The best players from the
I-league found themselves in the Indian national team and in recent times, India has managed to improve its world ranking to 137.
However, with the advent of the ISL based on Indian cricket’s IPL, the entire Indian football eco-system has been turned topsy turvy. For starters, the ISL is played for only for two months of the year, hence does not adhere to basic AFC guidelines. While the AFC rules allow only four foreign players to be signed up, most ISL teams sign up more than four foreign players thereby reducing the chances of deserving Indian players getting a look-in. Just sample FC Goa’s case. There are only a handful of Goans in the FC Goa team and even they are brought into the game for just ten-15 minutes. This is unfair and unhealthy for the growth of Indian football. Ideally, a FC Goa team or any of the ISL teams must have at least 6-7 local boys in the playing eleven to project the essential local flavour.
The other big drawback of the ISL format is the signing up of so called ‘marquee’ players, who are just an euphemism for the tired and the jaded. Isn’t it ironical that noted players of yesteryears, now sadly, retired and sloppy make easy money by making an appearance at the ISL. All that they effectively do is block the chances of younger, fitter Indian players from making the grade.
The sooner ISL follows the AFC rules, the better it will be for the game. For starters, they must restrict their foreign player signings and play only a maximum of three players in the playing eleven. Critics for the ISL format even include noted coaches like Steve Coppell of the Kerala blasters team. In a recent media interaction Coppell has said, “The ISL’s objective should be to develop facilities for kids and come out with a product that is more competitive and can take India into top-100 ranking within 5-10 years.” Coppell also said that the ISL must reduce the ratio of Indian and foreign players to give more exposure to local talent.
The All India Football Federation’s recent road map for Indian football applicable from 2017-18 season is also not the most ideal. ISL, which is being designated as the top league is scheduled to be played for five months from November 2017-March 2018 with the existing eight teams and an inclusion of two/four I-league teams, who would be selected through a tender process and not necessarily on merit.
The I-League which will now be called League One will have ten teams who will also play in the same period but cannot hope to get promoted to the ISL. The promotion and relegation will be restricted to only League One and a League Two, which will be played on a North-south-east-west zonal basis. It is precisely this format which has upset the Goan clubs who have walked out of the I-League.
Imagine the plight of the I-League teams. They painstakingly nurture grassroots football by running youth academies, sustain a team all year-round and then get treated as pariahs by the AIFF!
Indian football which was an international force in the 1950s and 60s has the opportunity to be ranked in the top 100 footballing nations of the world. But for that to happen, the AIFF needs to revitalise the I-League and allow promotion and relegation on merit across the three tiers. The present ISL skewed approach will not work.
