Lessons from the J-League

by Harmit Singh Kamboe

After having examined the MLS (Major League Soccer) for possible lessons for India and the looming Pro-League, we turn our eyes to Japan. Once again we chose Japan because football was not a very popular sport until a decade or so ago. The most popular western sport in Japan, by far is baseball. And given of course the somewhat similar Asian values between India and Japan, we thought it would be worthwhile for the well wishers of Indian football to learn from the Japanese experience.

Lesson 1: International success does not come overnight

Much like India, Japan had a blip of success in football at the global level before fading away. In the 1968 Olympics, Japan won a bronze medal in football. That medal was the result of German coach Dettmar Cramer, who was allowed to train the team intensively from 1960 to 1963.
As a fellow Asian nation, we are in somewhat the same boat as the Japanese. We are not tall, not as well built as players from some of the other countries and do not have much of an international football history to motivate our current and future generations.
But coach Cramer was an exception. He not only coached, Japan but coached in the US besides being coach of FC Bayern Munich and many other places and has written many books and some of his theories have re-defined football coaching.
Despite that, one needs to see that his three year stint as a coach produced results after a gap of five years following his departure. Success, at the top level does not come overnight or in a couple of years.
If there is one thing that India needs to do is realize the value of patience. We must first become dominant in South Asia before we even dream of beating others. All this talk of qualifying for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa is plain delusion and misleading. Such talk is only suited for people that are in the business of fooling the citizens and the fans and hiding behind their failures.

Lesson 2: Work with the Youth

And for those of you that that think this story from the 1960's holds no lessons for today, think again.
In the Olympics, where only the budding stars of the future participate when it comes to football, Coach Cramer, must have worked with players that were really young, as it took five years following his departure for the results to be come visible.
Today, the J-League (the Japanese Professional Football League) stipulates that each J1 (Division 1) club must have at least a satellite team, an U18 team, an U15 team and an U12 team. Each J2 (Division 2) club must have at least a satellite team and an U18 team. J2 clubs without an U15 and/or U12 team must organize football schools and conduct other activities targeting children of these age groups and organize these teams within three years of joining the J-League. When a J2 club is promoted to J1, the conditions for a J1 club will apply even if the J2 club has held J. League membership for less than three years.
Even, Marcelo Gouvea, São Paulo FC Director of Planning and Development, who are currently touring India has offered to take away a few talented players from India to Brazil for training, but stressed that they should all be below 10 years of age.
Joshua Vaz, the 16 year old Goan that is heading off to Portugal to train for 5 months is another case in point. Portuguese coach Daniel Barreira (University of Porto) gave Joshua a vote of confidence and said that he saw the lad played and was impressed by what he saw. 'Joshua is a good player and I am sure, given the right training he can mature into a quality player. If he was 14 years old, it would have still been better, but even at 16 he can certainly learn a few more things.
Not only is it critical to work with youngsters, it is important that the coaches be knowledgeable and competent. The J-League stipulates these requirements in writing too. First division teams must have at least 15 players who have concluded the standard professional contract approved by the Japan FA, while second division teams must have at least five such players. Coaches must possess the appropriate coaching license approved by the JFA. Managers of top teams must posses the JFA's Grade S license, managers of satellite teams must possess a Grade B license or higher, and managers of U18 (youth), U15 (junior youth) and U12 (junior) teams must possess a Grade C license or higher.
Such scientific attention to detail with Indian clubs is distant dream for now, but some kind of a start has to be made. A journey of a thousand miles always begins with a single step.

Lesson 3: Think Local

This by far is the single biggest lesson we can draw from the J-League. The J-League officials have applied this lesson in many different ways. Each club must designate a particular locality as its home town. It must cooperate in sports activities conducted in the area to grow as a club that takes part in activities in the community and promotes sports in the region. This has helped in building the team and local community spirit.
Before coach Cramer left Japan in 1964 he suggested the formation of a professional soccer league. In 1965, the JSL (Japan Soccer League) came into existence. However, this was a semi-professional league where the corporations owned football teams and used them for publicity purposes and the players were company employees. The fan base thus remained limited and gradually the momentum of the Olympic bronze medal faded away.
As an Indian football fan, the JSL sounds very much like the football set-up in India today. A look at the teams in the NFL, and even 2.Division, show how teams from various government undertakings and private companies dominate football in India.
How is a fan supposed to be motivated and follow the fortunes of a team to which he or she cannot connect on an emotional level? There is no tie of city, state or region, just the name of a corporate that exists to make money for its shareholders. Japanese corporations were and are still instrumental in financing the J-League but they took a back seat and let the teams be marketed more by their community angle.
India too, like Japan, frittered away the footballing success of the 50's and 60's. An extreme example of wasting history and tradition is visible with Indian hockey and they seem to have learnt their lesson and are trying to make amends with the PHL (Premier Hockey League). Indian football has not quite made the same degree of improvement.
By following the local approach, the J-League managed to make football, the second most popular sport in Japan behind baseball. Crowds went up from 3,000 a game to 20,000 and some times even more. Rugby, which was still organized along the corporate or institutional lines, got sidelined. In a multi-cultural country like India, teams based on city or state lines are bound to get massive local support if they market and organize themselves properly.
Playing on this local sentiment, the J-League was able to get funding for stadiums from local governments. Each Division 1 team is required to have its own floodlit stadium that can seat at least 15,000 people. In return the teams hold local football clinics for children. Activities like this of course served to build the fan base.
When the current form of J-League came into existence, care was given too ensure that the football teams were as spread out across the country as possible. Once again, in India's case, outside of Bengal and Goa, there is not much that is taking place. Football needs to spread outside these two states.

Lesson 4: Develop a Strong Foundation

When the current J-League started out in 1993, there were a total of 10 teams. With new found marketing tactics, grass root support due to community (rather than company) based teams; the J-League grew to 12 teams in 1994, 14 teams in 1995, 16 teams in 1996, 17 teams in 1997 and 18 teams in 1998.
There was an overkill and the J-League needed to be overhauled the number of teams was cut back to 16 in 1999. Another re-organization is looming in 2007 or 2008. One of the key lessons learned was not to ignore the teams in the second and third division. For local communities, having a sporting venue and outlet are key. Division and titles are secondary. Playing better and scientifically is the first step. Winning will follow.

In India, the non NFL teams are given the most cruel of treatments. They are thrown together to play a string of matches across a few days. The 2.Division and indeed 3.Division needs to be stretched out and have their own home and away games over a longer season. There are 12 teams in the second division of the J-League. And a third division is being put in place.
The J-League second division is meant for teams and clubs that do not have the financing or a large enough town or group of towns that are able to support a top flight club. If India is to have any chance of spreading serious football across her land, then a vibrant second division/third division is a must.
Below the 2nd and the soon to be 3rd division, is the JFL (Japan Football League, where amateurs play) and below that are the local leagues. The mass participation is key in sustaining the "love for the game". A handful of teams across India cannot engage a billion people.

Lesson 5: Define the role of the League in Writing

The J-League operates under the Japan FA. It is responsible for the organization of professional matches and the keeping of official match records; establishment of regulations; and training, certification and registration of players, coaches, and referees.
The J-League's stated goals at the time of its establishment included promoting football as culture, strengthening and fostering Japanese football, raising the status of players and coaches, and encouraging stadium development and other hometown ties and facilities. In addition to the league itself, a number of affiliated companies were established to handle specialized fields of activities.
J-League Pictures, Inc., for example, controls all video images of official matches, keeps video records, and monitors rights. Another company handles football-related advertisements and supervises the sales of commercial products using the J. League logo, mascot characters, etc. The TV income is shared evenly by all the teams.
The J-League responded by establishing tangible guidelines for club management and launched a series of measures in 1999 to promote financial stability. These included joint public disclosure of all club accounts (revenues and expenditures), establishment of a management advisory committee, the start of the General Managers' Seminar of lectures on club management techniques, and a drive to promote diversified shareholding.

To encourage the community spirit, the J-League teams encourages other sports leagues and the teams to use their facilities. In cities where JFA teams exist, they run their own school and junior teams and help the existing school teams.

Unlike the MLS, the J-League is not owned by investors. It is more concerned about promoting football, organizing it and providing assistance and advice to the clubs.

Summary

'Black cat, white cat: whatever catches the mouse is a good cat' (Chinese proverb).

It is pointless to argue for the League itself to be outside the AIFF's hands just for the sake of it. The Japanese experience clearly shows that a league not in the private sector's hands can also deliver results.

But in India's case, we have had 11 long years of the NFL being run by people that have not shown any innovation or imagination. Non-performance is the best reason to insist on change and ask for the Pro League to not be in AIFF's hands.

Outside of the league ownership, the other lessons between the MLS and J-League remain quite similar. The appeal to a local catchment area, emphasis on youth, use of trained coaches, the aim of spreading out to all major parts of the country and having a large and growing supply of talent are universal lessons that we hope our administrators will imbibe.