by Abhishek Gujral

Well, the IFA Shield has just concluded, the Federation cup is over and the various local leagues across the country have more or less finished. The Durand Cup is around the corner, and thereafter, of course, the National Football League. To be perfectly honest, I actually think that our senior players do not get enough games in a season. Maybe the authorities should look into this?

Sorry for not making any attempt whatsoever to hide the sarcasm. Actually, Albert Einstein once famously remarked that there were only two infinite things in the world: the universe, and, the stupidity of the human mind. And, that he was not sure about the former! Well if he had come across the noble souls who run football in our country, I am quite sure he would have definitely made up his mind!

It's frustrating, isn't it? When things are so obvious to a layman like myself, how come they do not occur to the 'experts' who run the show? The number of games our senior players play in a season is quite ridiculous. Not only does this lead to burn out, this also adversely affects the players themselves. And needless to say, there is no time at all for international friendlies, which explains our constant slide down the FIFA rankings. Yet, things have not changed, and, are not likely to do so. Oh, I'm really sorry, I forgot: the local leagues with big name players naturally bring in much revenue to the state associations, and eventually, to the pockets of the officials who run the show. What about investment in youth development, I hear you ask? Ha! Not a chance! That's hardly important, is it?

It would quite easy to have the local leagues only for the juniors wouldn't it? Perhaps make it for Under-23's? This would not only provide some much needed rest to our players, but would also save them from playing on 'mud pools' during the monsoons and thereby risking serious injury? Another option might be to allow only 2 or maybe 3 senior players...but as I said, if the authorities did indeed care.....well......that's wishful thinking I know, best not to talk about it.

Another aspect that definitely needs to be looked at is the deplorable conditions of football stadiums in the country. The Saltlake Stadium, the country's premier stadium and the largest in the country is in a mess. And I don't just mean the playing surface: the stands have not been cleaned in something like a year. All the other stadiums around the country also need urgent sprucing up. Yet, there is absolutely no sign of things improving at all. Needless to say the poor surface affects the standard of football. Furthermore, it is downright embarrassing to take a friend to a stadium - you need to take your own newspapers, to clean the seats! It is interesting that the IFA claims the government owns the stadium and therefore nothing can be done. Well, all I can say to the authorities is: nobody would object to you at least cleaning the stadium and maintaining it properly, since you run football in West Bengal!

Well to be honest, I forgot that lack of funds might be a problem here. After all, only about 100,000 odd people turn up to watch big derby games in Calcutta - only a very small part of the large revenue collected actually goes to the clubs. Well, I wonder where the rest of the money goes.....any guesses?

All said and done, the fact is, that it is extremely frustrating to be a fan of Indian football. The potential is massive - I think everybody realizes that. However till the day corruption and politics be totally weeded out of sport, nothing much can be done. It does pain me to no end, to write an article like this because the facts are sad. Sad, but true. Millions of fans like myself can only hope that some day India will realize her potential. I don't know why I feel that's not going to happen in my lifetime.