Rana DATTA
Correspondent (Calcutta)

BRAVO IndianFootball.Com!!!!! BRAVO Arunava!!!! It was a long journey of 10 years for IndianFootball.Com in Indian football.
Since 2002, I was a regular visitor of www.IndianFootball.Com to get the latest news & information on Indian football. I had seen some of Arunava’s interviews on TV channels during the 2006 FIFA world cup, so I knew him.
One day in May 2007 I saw Arunava’s profile on a popular social networking site. I just send him a message saying that being a footballer I want to do something for the development of Indian football. I did not expect that he would revert back to me, but he did. We started exchanging mails and then, one fine morning, I was surprised to get a call from him, and we had a long chat over the phone on various aspects of Indian football. I was surprised to see his enthusiasm about Indian football even though he stays in the world’s best football playing nation where nobody cares about the Indian football.
So, my journey with IndianFootball.Com begins from there. Then I met Arunava in Calcutta when he came to India. There I met the IndianFootball.Com Calcutta team members of Somsubhra, Swagatam and Samrat, too. It was an amazing experience for me to see some football crazy people just like me.
But, initially I could not do much for IndianFootball.Com due to work pressure. The first thing I did for IndianFootball.Com when I went to Goa to cover the I-League opening match.
But specially, it was excellent teamwork and great co-ordination among us on the last day of the I-League. We covered five matches live online all over India at the same time.
It was the magic of football, which brings so many people like us under the same umbrella. Otherwise it would not be possible for us.
We already had a tie-up with 106.2 Amar FM in Calcutta, courtesy Arunava and Samrat, where Samrat and I myself did a talk show on football during the IFA Shield.
We have some plans in our mind for developing Indian football. We are also looking forward to the Bayern Munich trip to Calcutta in May.
Before joining IndianFootball.Com, I did not have an idea that a non-profit organization can work in such a professional manner more importantly on a zero cost basis.
Now we have grown to 19 members. I hope we will continue to grow in a more rapid pace in coming days.
So it’s my appeal to all football crazy people to wake up and please come forward and do something for the Indian football. You won’t get a better platform than www.IndianFootball.Com, because WE LOVE TO FOOTBALL YOU!!!!!!!