Arunava CHAUDHURI
Founder & Editor-in-Chief

...

Interview
conducted by Harmit Singh Kamboe

An anniversary of any kind is a good time to pause and reflect and to look not only at the past but also at the future through new eyes. And it is the same with the merry band of volunteers at www.IndianFootball.com. To better understand what keeps the volunteers of IndianFootball.Com going, we decided to interview the founder and Editor-in-Chief of our site, Arunava Chaudhuri, whose passion about Indian football has been visible for last 10 years through our site.
Arunava’s story is fascinating not only because it is about a sport that in India has not so far got the attention it deserves but because the story shows how far passionate people will go – official titles and money are what drives people to make end meet but they do not represent a calling and seldom generate the kind of passion that has been shown by Arunava and his editorial team members.

Harmit: Please tell us about yourself? Where were you born, where did you go to school, college, Where do you work etc.

Arunava: I was born in Remscheid, Germany on October 30, 1976. I went to kindergarten and junior school in Remscheid, before I spent five years at the Calcutta International School from class five to nine. Thereafter I came back to Germany and did my high school finals. I studied chemistry at the universities of Wuppertal, but had to end it due to health problems and then did a masters in English and information science at the University of Duesseldorf.
Now I work as a journalist and football consultant. I can combine my passion for football and my journalistic skills for IndianFootball.Com, which until now is a non-commercial venture.

Harmit: Was sports a big part of your life as a young child and student? Was it only football that you were attracted to?

Arunava: If you are born and brought-up in Germany sports is part of your life. And especially football. But I have over the years also liked tennis, hockey and Formula 1 to name a few other sports...

Harmit: What attracted you to Indian football despite being in Germany?

Arunava: My five years in Calcutta were a big influence of my interest in Indian football. Since I came back to Germany in 1992 I tried to follow Indian football though it was very very difficult in those days without Internet, mobile phones, etc.

Harmit: What prompted you to start IndianFootball.Com and compile all the stats from the various local leagues which most people do not even follow?

Arunava: When I started IndianFootball.Com I wanted to make a site which was unique, on a topic on which there wasn't another site. Actually I wanted to teach myself how to use HTML and I ended up with making a website on Indian football.
I started getting positive feedback from day two/three of making the site and now we are here 10 years later. I guess that says it all... I myself am very interested in statistics, am interested in the history of the game. And also try to follow as much of Indian football as
possible. It doesn't always mean the Calcutta or Goa leagues, but also smaller leagues in Manipur or Sikkim. And this I guess this shows our site.

Harmit: How has Indian football both on the field and off the field (administration, marketing of the game) evolved in the last 10 years?

Arunava: The administration has improved, but still has a long long way to go before we can call it professional. The help it is getting from FIFA and the AFC are good, but the AIFF needs to grow its personnel to cope with the scale of organisation needed to run football in a country of the size of India. With Zee Sports as a media and marketing partner of the AIFF the presence of football has improved on TV. But overall marketing needs to pick-up to get more crowds to matches and make Indian football's presence more felt in the national media.

When we speak over the quality of the football in India, then I can surely say that it has improved in the last decade. Coaches and players now know much more about tactics and modern day training methods. Players nowadays are better equipped with the basics.
I saw this winter some really good I-League matches which gives me hope that our football is moving in the right way.

Harmit: What have been some of you most fulfilling moments in the 10 years that IFC has been operating?

Arunava: There have been a number fulfilling moments over the 10 years.

A great achievement was organising a camp for the then India U17 at the Sports School Hennef, Germany along with Chris in August 2002. The U17 boys thereafter reached the Asian U17 Championships quarterfinals which made Chris & myself proud as we played a part in their preparations. Till this day the boys are really thankful for the camp in Germany though some authorities in India didn't think it was worth it.
The biggest victory of Team India while I was present was the 1-0 win against the UAE in a 2002 World Cup qualifier on April 8, 2001. A great afternoon of football in Bangalore, which had opened up the chance to qualify for the final round of the Asian qualifiers of the 2002 World Cup. Sadly we couldn't beat Yemen thereafter.
Being in Calcutta with the FC Bayern Munich II team and winning the 111th IFA Shield in December 2005. And I now look forward to be down with FC Bayern Munich's first team for Oliver Kahn's last match on May 27 at the Saltlake Stadium.

If I look at IndianFootball.Com then it is the credit we have received for our work over the years. Be it from FIFA or the AFC and other quarters.
When I read the AFC Vision India project report it was good to see IndianFootball.Com being mentioned as part of the development project. Sadly we where never consulted on this matter.

Harmit: What have been some of the most disappointing moments in the last 10 years that IFC has been operating?

Arunava: It is always when India plays and we lose... But it is even worse when I was involved.
The most disappointing moment as such was India losing 0-4 against Japan in the 2006 World Cup qualifier in Calcutta on September 8, 2004. I really felt bad as those involved in organising the game had done an excellent job. We had worked over a month to get everything place. That was surely amongst the best organised international matches in India!
On the IndianFootball.Com front I have been surprised about the lack of credibility from within India. Our work seems to be getting more credit internationally. In India one either takes us as a given or people question our motives which is really disappointing.

Harmit: How do you see the next 10 years of Indian football - will the speed of change be faster than the last 10 years?

Arunava: Finally things seem to be changing for good!
But the launch of the I-League does remind me of the launch of the National Football League 11 years ago. The inaugural NFL was the best on all possible fronts and then the running of the league was like going through the motions...
This needs to be avoided with the I-League and there needs to be continued progress with the league. It needs to grow organically and not a forceful growth which could kill it. The focus needs to be put on youth development to get us international success. And more younger people need to be integrated into the administration to bring in new ideas and ways of thought.

Harmit: Where do you IFC in the next 5 to 10 years?

Arunava: IndianFootball.Com has come a long way in the last ten years. And I hope we have played our little bit in the promotion of Indian football and have kept people around the world updated on the latest in Indian football. I also hope that IndianFootball.Com can grow further and reach even more people across India and the whole world. What I would love to see is IndianFootball.Com able to venture into other forms of media. Be it on a mobile platform or launch an own IndianFootball.Com magazine and maybe even an own IndianFootball.Com branded TV show.
My immediate aim is to finally organise the IndianFootball.Com Awards! It is something very close to my heart with more and more people voting each year it has reached a good level. Now we have to take it from the online world into the real world. I guess anything is possible...

Harmit: What has been the objective and purpose of keeping the IFC as a non profit and will this continue to be the case?

Arunava: Realistically speaking there has never been the scope to commercialise IndianFootball.Com's operations. On this front Chris and myself are too pragmatic to just jump at a chance to a make a little bit of money.

None of our team members are dependent on IndianFootball.Com making money for us. We all love to do the work we do for our site! And there is a lot of idealism involved.
But if an opportunity came our way to make a little money for us and also for the promotion of the site, then we would surely consider it. So far any expenses that we at IndianFootball.Com have ever had that have been taken care off by each team member personally.

I thank you all for this!
And I'd like to thank all those of you who have helped us over the years!!!