More Bhaichungs are needed to facilitate the transition

Wanted: A fully professional set-up in Indian football with professional leagues at the national as well as state levels. How long have you and I been demanding that? As long as we care to remember, I dare say.
The National League (NFL) has completed nine editions. Without a trace of doubt, the NFL has established itself as the country's premier soccer championship. It has also brought in a fierce level of competition among the top clubs and an intense inter-state rivalry, especially between Bengal and Goa. All these positive offshoots notwithstanding, the NFL is still far from a professional league, as was envisaged at the time of its inception.
Goa, which has been pushing hard for the last few years to displace Bengal as the No. 1 soccer state in India, has the distinction of running the country's only professional league. Our state association, the IFA, talked of a similar intention last year when they announced plans to start a Premier Division with teams comprising 70 per cent professional players.
Well, the Premier Division did kick off last month with a reduced number (8) of teams, but the ‘professional' bit is missing.
I've come across several fans who wonder aloud why India can't do it when other Asian countries like Japan, Korea and even China can. It's a valid question, the answer to which basically lies in the vastness of our country. Its very size is hindrance No. 1 in galvanising any macro-level activity. Multiple cultures and habits, varying thought-processes, economic disparity compound the problems.
In Bengal, for example, football is followed very passionately but it's the middle and lower-middle classes who take to the game seriously. Most of the footballing force comes from the districts and semi-urban areas. Their sole aim is to find a berth in a Calcutta club and use that avenue to get a job which will last them a lifetime. They want a fixed income to support the family as they neither have the confi dence nor the guts to become a professional footballer. And our structure is such that it's in no position to dissuade these footballers from taking up a job and encourage them to embrace the game as their sole source of bread and butter.
Goa, by comparison, is an affluent state where a budding footballer doesn't have to think of earning his family's bread. Setting up a professional league there became easier as each team had the backing of a company which came forward to wholeheartedly support the cause. A transparent system is in place and there is no place for ad-hocism.
Looking back at Bengal, we find just two or three teams blessed with corporate backing but without a well-defined policy or budget. There's haggling over funds at the start of every season, affecting the process of team formation. If this is the state of affairs in our top clubs, just imagine the plight of the other so-called Premier Division teams. Most of the second category teams are office outfits with limited ambition and funds. Building up an all-conquering professional team is the least of their priorities. How do you expect such a system to switch to a fully professional one?
The only professional footballer in India is Bhaichung Bhutia. With his reputation, he could have jolly well got himself a high-salary job and supplemented that fixed income by earning a few more lakhs from any of the top clubs. He refrained from taking that easy path and I respect him for that. He had no business to be upset over East Bengal wanting a medical test to assess his fitness after a long lay-off, but he has every right to go and play in Malaysia. India needs a lot more Bhaichungs to turn its dream into reality.
Besides changing the mindset of players, those who run the game have to show serious commitment. It's not that they aren't aware of what needs to be done. They have sought ex-players' opinions and got some solid advice as well, but never got down to implementing them. It boils down to a lack of determination and seriousness.
The AIFF can still catch up on lost time by chalking out a proper policy and involving capable people at the right places. If former greats like Beckenbauer and Platini can head World Cup organising committees, why can't a Milkha Singh be appointed chairman of the Commonwealth Games committee? That's the crux of the Indian problem. Politics and politicians rule our country in every sphere.
Putting a professional system in place seems a distant dream at this point of time. But I'm an eternal optimist and refuse to believe anything is impossible. The day the powers-that-be realise that introducing professionalism into our system is the first step towards hauling Indian football out of the deep rut, things will start falling into place.