BASIL SYLVESTER PINTO
All India Football Federation general secretary Kushal Das was in Goa to witness the AIFF Under-15 Youth League finals recently. Das spoke to The Goan on various key issues about Indian football in an exclusive interview.
Q: Is it a feasible option to merge ISL with the I-League? When will it happen?
Das: I do not think you should call it a merger. We are looking at the whole club competition “ the ISL, I-League to make it a proper competition which benefits Indian football.
Q: The Under-17 World Cup will be held in India the following year. What is the preparedness of the national team?
Das: There is a big plan. They have a schedule chalked out. There is a mini tournament happening in Goa from May 15 to 26 where five teams are participating. It is an invitational (Under-16) tourney with teams from US, South Korea, Tanzania, Malaysia and India. They will play in a round-robin format with the final match between the top two teams. Then the team goes to Europe for 2-2 ½ months. Essentially, they will go to Germany for preparations, but would also play a tournament in Norway. Then, they will come back and prepare for the AFC Championship (U-16) to be held in Goa in September. This tourney would feature the best teams in Asia who have qualified for the final round. The Championship is the qualification for the Under-17 World Cup. India has qualified as they are hosting the tournament. But in this Championship, there will be other qualifiers.
Q: With the eventuality of the formation of the new league, what will be the case of the Goan clubs who have a rich legacy but who did not fare too well? I am also given to understand the top two I-League teams get an automatic qualification in the new league. Your thoughts…
Das: We have not decided at all. We are still in the planning stage. When we come up with a plan, we will disclose it to everyone.
Q: How many teams will the new league comprise of?
Das: Even those things are not clear. We are just working on it. We are all putting our heads together to find the best possible solution. Whenever we are ready with the first cut, we will announce the details.
Q: Could you at least tell us the tentative date of this most-anticipated announcement?
Das: We are trying our best to come out with the first cut of the plan by May-end (this year).
Q: What's your take on the Santosh Trophy wherein I-League team players are unable to play? And normally, the cream of the players comes from Goa and Bengal, who are unable to put up their best teams…
Das: That is the decision taken by the technical committee. They felt that I-League players should not play in the Santosh Trophy because that does not allow other players of the State who are not playing the I-League to play major tournaments.
Q: What is your say on the controversy surrounding age-level competitions like the U-17, U-15, where the players look much older?
Das: You are talking about this tournament here? Then any doubts (about AIFF U-15) regarding the MRI, we haven't found a single case of over-age players.
Q: What has been done to certain State Associations who do not have an office of their own, necessary infrastructure in place? Yet, these associations like Daman & Diu are given an opportunity to vote. Your comment.
Das: It is left up to the State Associations to create the facilities. They have been given membership and as per AIFF constitution they have the right to vote which we cannot take away. The State Associations have to do something on their own. You cannot expect AIFF or the Central Body to look after everything. Daman & Diu, for example, must hire the right people to get the right kind of system in place. It is up to the State Associations to work and create these things. We (AIFF) will assist them with technical knowledge.
Q: What is being done to improve the standard of the national team which has always been languishing in the 150s-160s in the FIFA rankings?
Das: That is a problem. I think the only way the national team can be improved in the long-term is when we have a good youth development system. That is why we started the U-15 I-League. We are making the clubs focus on youth development, in grassroots.
Q: What about the women’s team? How do you see them grow?
Das: We plan to start a women’s league this October. We would like to do a club tournament with not too many teams to start off with but let it grow slowly.
Q: In the immediate future, what could the football fans in the country look forward to?
Das: I would not say in the immediate future, but in a few years’ time. With the focus of so many people, the clubs, even some of the State Associations, the academies on youth development, I am quite confident that the football standard will improve significantly and the national team ranking will go up.
