FIFA World Cup

They say it is the greatest show on earth! We agree. The FIFA World Cup 2006, Germany has once again proved that football is the most popular sports in the world. Even the general secretary of UN Khofi Annan envies FIFA because the United Nations has less number of countries registered with it than FIFA. The FIFA World Cup really unites the whole world as people irrespective of their nationalities, religion and cultures have watched it simultaneously during the live coverage of the games. Some watched it in Germany others like me watched it from the comforts of our homes.

As we watching the World Cup, my twelve year old son asked me two interesting questions. One: Why is India not playing the World Cup? I replied immediately saying that India is not good enough to play at the level. Next: If India can beat England in Cricket and Argentina in Hockey, why can't India beat them in Football? Now this really made me ponder for a while. Yes, indeed why not? In short I could only tell him that that football is the number one sports of both England and Argentina whereas it is not the same in the case of India. India, I told him, has a glorious past as we had qualified for the 1950 World Cup but did not participate; stood fourth at the 1956 Olympics and we were also Asian champions in the sixties. From there on other countries have progressed but we went into hibernation. We slept for so long that some call us now, a sleeping Giant.

Some say that we must target 2010 FIFA World Cup. To this I can only suggest to ignore them, for they know not what they are saying. The sleeping giant must wake up first to target any World Cup and realistically we must target the 2018 World Cup. Appointing Bob Houghton as our football coach is a good start but things can move in the right direction only when he takes a look at the infrastructure and training of our youth. Many people wonder as to why a country of one billion people cannot find twenty three players to play the World Cup. Actually size of the country and population does not matter as has been shown by Trinidad and Tobago which has a population of just over a million like Goa. Again, you need not be rich to compete in the World Cup as Ghana, a poor African country, has shown us by defeating the richest country in the world, the USA. What we do need is the PASSION for the game. This is one factor that was common among all the thirty-two countries playing the World Cup. Do we have this passion for this game in India? It is there only in Bengal and Goa and their dominance in Indian football is proof of this passion. These two states combined can pose a big challenge to any country in the world provided a genuine effort is made at the grass root level. Training must start from the age of eight if not earlier.

The standard of our school football must be improved. Professional clubs must sponsor school football. It is a well-known fact that almost all footballers come from poor or middle class background. It's very ironic that the poor are more talented. These youngsters must be scouted and a qualified coach must be sponsored for a pool of say three to four schools. we must have round the year training for these youngsters with proper kit and diet. Their parents must be taken into confidence so that the kids have the necessary support at home, which is of great importance. The Government and the Department of Education must also give a place of pride for sportsmen. Sports should be treated as a subject so that students excelling in sports get the necessary leverage in the final average marks. Contribution from the Government, schools, parents, coaches and of course the youngsters is the need of the hour. For me, combined efforts means 'Youth Development' and right now we have not yet taken the first step.

The selection of Vikash Dhorasoo in the French squad for the FIFA World Cup 2006, Germany, should be a matter of great pride to Indians. He was born to parents of Indian origin from Andra Pradesh whose parents had migrated to Mauritius and then France. It only proves that Indians have it in their blood. Indians are crazy about Cricket but then so is Australia but they excel in both Cricket and Football, Why can't India?