Simply South

The Asian Football Confederation recently having chosen Tamil Nadu and Kerala for the 'Vision India' project's second phase, which had started-off with Delhi and Manipur in 2005. I for one have witnessed a considerable amount of change or rather new initiatives being 'promised' by the TFA (No longer recognized or referred to as TNFA).
Having lived in the Tamil Nadu state capital the last seven years, where I was introduced to the sport. I have experienced football at all levels either as a player or a mere spectator. And from my observations the junior/grassroot level has been neglected quite badly, which can be said about the football in rest of the subcontinent as well.
Though all the talks of developing at the grassroots level are fine and with some good amount of work coming through, which I will elaborate on later. It's just a case of what do the boys and upcoming players in the city have to look forward to? The Chennai FA which runs amongst the oldest leagues in the country is far from the better domestic leagues in the country. But is there a real incentive for any upcoming talent to consider competing at that level?
The teams and players hardly gain anything financially from playing in the so called professional league, where the number of unfit middle aged men, youngsters who manage several other occupations apart from showing up in their kit on match day, outnumber actual professionals, who again have a day job at the institution they represent. While only the new trend of 'guest players' as they are called, in some way fit into the professional classification.
So in terms of finance, quality of opposition, growth and progress as a league and its participants, the TFA does not have much to offer, nor does anyone seems interested in floating the league as sponsors, or fuel it with the necessary finance.
I know for a fact that every year a bunch of immensely talented played stray from football for reason mentioned above, only an example though. Apart from that the players could be good academics and talent in other fields, that promise greener pastures. And, people who are involved in the junior set up or players at all levels, know of exceptional talents resorting to a more 'secure' career path. And who can really blame them.

Now, back to where it all started - the Tamil Nadu edition on the AFC Grant has been creatively named 'Vision Tamil Nadu' while the one at Kerala 'Vision Kerala' and is headed by the President of the TFA CR Vishwanathan, is aimed at improving the standards of football in the state starting at the grassroots right thru to the professional level - where I think the attention should be focused on more.
To kick start the project the TFA announced what was known as the 'Football Awareness Run' on October 14 along the famous Marina Beach. The run which was intended to raise interest and in a way demand from the state government to allot land for the purpose of developing training centers to develop talent and have better facilities to play the game.
The AFC which has promised assistance with finances in the ventures that the TFA takes up, but also wanted to see the government play a key role in aiding with the project. And one of the key aspects of this assistance would be the provision of land and playgrounds.
This is where the projects initiative showed significance success, though there is no news of the Government granting land to the TFA (or maybe I have not heard of it). The 'Football Awareness Run' was a success with a 10,000 strong turn out at the beach, twice as much as the expected turn out.
With the presence of the Mayor M. Subramaniyam inaugurating the event, and with several noted personalities and Olympians attendting the run, I feel the message was loud and clear to the government, and the day is not too far away when the TFA have its demands met from the government - and giving the AFC what it expected to see in the form of government aid.
The finances we are talking here is in the range of Rs. 8 to 10 crores from the AFC. Which will be aimed at developing a top class academy, with artificial football turfs - the only one in the country currently in Goa and other training facilities. The President has pleaded the government to allot land as the TFA has found it difficult to keep to their schedules and sticking to the calendar due to the lack of grounds and facilities to execute its objectives and plans.
The second plans of this project is to attract international fixtures to the city. They have already hosted Iraq in a pre-Olympic qualifier. And on October 28 was supposed to host Lebanon in a 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifier but it had to be shifted to Goa due to heavy rains. Along with plans to secure future AFC organized Tournaments and matches in Chennai, the TFA will initiate talks with the SDAT (Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu) to upgrade the standards of the Chennai and Coimbatore stadiums to meet the AFC and FIFA requirements of being a recognized international venue.

And, now very recently having hosted the Manchester United Premier Cup U15, south and west zone regional qualifiers, adds a feather to the cap of the CFA and TFA in terms of organizing. Which is a step in the right direction as far as getting the players at the particular age groups, from various parts of the state go head to head with some of the junior teams from reputed clubs such as Salgaocar SC, Dempo SC, Mahindra United, Sporting Clube de Goa to name a few.

Now as I mentioned it was a step in the right direction, and though the Tamil Nadu boys did fare well, but not well enough to move all that ahead in the tournament. It does provide with hope and have something towards in the coming years. And, maybe do as well to enjoy the kind of success that Mohun Bagan or East Bengal did in the past, in the Manchester United Premier Cup.

The above mentioned content is basically snippets from what I have read in the news and gathered from the coaches and people of importance in TN football. Hats off to TFA for coming this far and moving ahead.
But from what I have witnessed in the last few years, and what I have experienced in my time in Europe, or even Goa for that matter. The TFA has to go a long way and this will require a long term commitment to the tasks that they have chalked out for themselves. I am an eternal optimist but have seen or heard about a lot of initiatives in other parts of the country fall way short of their promises and proposals.
At least now the way the junior camps for the district teams have been conducted, it's a welcome change from what I had experienced.
You see that the selectors come on time for the trials now, where as at one time was taken for granted that showing up a couple of hours late for your trials would not matter, cause the selectors would not be there anyway. The progression from district to the state team, is now being based on performance in a month long camp before playing a inter district tournament - which decides the final squad for team Tamil Nadu (whatever age group).
The case earlier was that you show up for district selections, after which if the glimpse of a selector catches you in a moment with the ball, ensures your place in the team. The selectors barely look at the ground while the players sweat it out. And, the 'lucky' ones get a letter congratulating them on being selected for the district team and are asked to show up for the state selections in a ground where the boys from the other districts show up. With no guarantee or arrangements of where to stay, many are stuffed into tiny rooms near the venue. And once again they boys are asked to sweat it out in front of the selectors. Only to be selected for a state team that will not play in any tournament.
Of course no one is a stranger to the fact that places in the team can be 'gained' by knowing the right people or 'sacrificing' enough for the place that is at stake, and this aspect is still very evident in every sport in the country.
This was the story not too long ago, and sorry if this has hurt sentiments of those who were involved then. But this is just to showcase what my personal experience was at a trial.

But like I said changes are evident, so here's a reference - the Tamil Nadu Girls U13 team who had a wonderful camp at Dindigul, preparing them for the AIFF U13 Girl's Football Festival, Bhuvaneshwar - had available to them a grass pitch of international size and standard to practice on. With a qualified coach and staff overseeing the proceedings. And, the same is taking place with a lot of the junior teams in the city, where you have junior team coaches and support staff working on a methodized and structure program to develop talent. Rather than the good old run around for 20 minutes and play for 45. The Tamil Nadu Girls went on to win the tournament, beating Chattisgarh in the final by a margin of 8-0!!!!!!

Like Mr. Vishwanathan promised it starts at the U13 level, and certainly I have heard and seen enough to be convinced that things have changed for the better. But then, again 13 and over is a concern in terms of elite athlete development. Though you have late groomers, I understand 90% of the world top stars and professionals have started being 'coached' and not playing at the age of 9-10. Which I believe is an extremely crucial stage, as at this stage they learn to adapt to their playing styles through small sided games and the like. By throwing a starter into a full sized pitch in a position a coach thinks is best for him at the age of 13-14- will not do the player a world of good at all.
What I think the state association needs is a group of result oriented, committed and motivated individuals to take over the junior scene. The old school methods of youth development need to be abandoned.
Where the other concept that is missing in the country to do with development, which is start early and finish late. You bring them in at 8-9 years old and groom and guide them till they are 19-22. Players are graduated to the main stage too early, as there really are no ranks to work through to make it to the top. We still depend on school PT teachers to be the grassroot coaches, and with no club level age group tournaments, no concept of reserve teams and the like, we need to look into the phases of development as well. Where we at one stage prepare the player for the next, rather than jumping from 1 to 100 in weeks or months time.

I have given you'll a minor example of what used to happen and whats happening now. The present is a welcome change and hopefully will move onto the CFA League, amongst the oldest in the country. As I expect to the grassroot projects coming through to make the league genuinely competitive, and having more than just the one team competing to get a spot in the I-league. But then again as I mentioned in the beginning, still a long way to go. I just hope that all the talent development leads to the benefit of both the players and the teams behind the teams. So I hope potential sponsors wake up to the need of the hour!