by Harmit Singh Kamboe

The Off Season is What Makes or Breaks a Season
As football fans, we may think that there will not be much happening until the end of September when India's tryst with the Pro-League kicks off. But nothing could be further from the truth. Now that the NFL is over, the real work at various football clubs needs to get underway for the next season.

The first hurdle that the off season brings is the transfer window. While having a transfer season that allows the teams to know their make up, early in the off season seems obvious, in India's comical and embarrassing football set up, we should recognize and be thankful for even the most basis and sensible things.
The current off season has once again exposed the weaknesses in India's club football system of single season transfers as no team has been spared from the movement of key players. This naturally means that the players may not be as cohesive as one would like them to be. Despite that the off season provides the best opportunity for a team to get over its weaknesses and take corrective action. Key skills and strategies can be fine tuned only in the off season and not once the league commences. For once the season starts, with the travel, matches, recuperation etc., there is little time left for coming up with new strategies or to practice new skill sets.

In the words of the famous General, George S. Patton, "the more you sweat in peace, the less you bleed in war".

The other aspect of the off season 2007 has been a god sent prospect for Indian football fans. Long fed on the diet of a consistent sub-standard level of football, clubs, and administration, the news that five entities are "considering" investing in the football scene in India seems to too good to be true. When the AIFF announced that it met company representatives from Jammu&Kashmir Bank, Osian's Group, Peninsula Land Limited, Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group and Essel Group, die hard fans must have fallen of their chairs. Never before have we Indian football fans come close to the possibility of a flood of fresh ideas, capital and thinking. And this is not all, it was further reported that an ONGC official was unable to attend this meeting.
The Essel group with Mumbai Football Club seem to have been the fastest one off the blocks. They have a coach, a reasonably good squad and the prospect of them investing in an existing football ground in Mumbai should make all Mumbaikar football fans proud. While the takeover of the New Delhi Heroes by Osian's, who are marketed and managed by sports management firm IOS India, are another club that has made strides with the hiring of famous Nigerian Chima Okorie as their coach. Both clubs are also the first non Bengal and Goa clubs that seem to want to appeal to the local/city pride by having the name of the cities in their names. If these clubs are able to show a fan following, it may intrigue corporations to look at establishing football clubs in other Indian cities.
Each of these corporations represents a tremendous opportunity in taking Indian football forward both on the commercial and geographical level.

Team India has also used the break in the football season for some serious work. A core group of national players are sweating it out in Gurgaon, Haryana; prior to a fortnight in Portugal and a follow on camp. Coach Houghton's insistence on more exposure for the team has also been heard by the AIFF, which is working hard to secure teams for the international ONGC Nehru Cup in Delhi in late-August. From what little has been shared with the media the focus seems to be on inviting teams that are a few ranks above us. A good performance by Team India against them would not only boost their confidence but also help draw local football fans drawn to the game. This would be the ideal preparation for the SAFF Cup in Sri Lanka and Maldives in December 2007.

Our hopes, dreams, prayers and best wishes are with the officials working behind the scenes to bring some new blood that may pull Indian football out of the coma that it has been in. We do not ask for unrealistic results, all we ask for is a realistic, professional and genuine efforts to make things better.