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India is hosting its first global football tournament, the 2017 Fifa Under-17 World Cup. It is a landmark occasion which promises to boost the status of football in this country and also enhance the global profile of Indian sport.
It will signal the end of a long wait too. In the 77 football world cups held so far including men’s and women’s events across senior and age-group football, over 87 years India has neither hosted nor participated in one. All this changed on 6th October, when this year’s edition of the biennial Under-17 World Cup will kicked off simultaneously with matches in New Delhi and Mumbai, two of the six host cities chosen for the tournament.
When the Fifa executive committee chose India as the host nation in 2013, the country broadly had two tasks at hand. The first was to prepare itself as host of the event. Barring a few minor hiccups, India’s preparations have been smooth and, with Fifa playing a key guiding role.
The second was to ready a competitive national team, which would go down in history as India’s first-ever to play in a football world cup. As the host, India directly entered the 24-nation event with the other teams qualifying from their respective continental competitions. Naturally, this task was for India to figure out on its own. And, unsurprisingly, in a country where youth football has perpetually been stuck in its planning stages, this hasn’t been a smooth ride.
The All India Football Federation’s (AIFF) approach to fielding a national team for the World Cup has been peculiar, albeit necessary, when you factor in the absence of a structured youth system in the country. It has involved recruiting foreign coaches, scouting young talent over multiple phases and flying this selected group of players around the globe for “exposure trips” in search of better-quality opponents and year-round competitive games, which are currently unavailable in India.
India’s opening and second match was a pleasant surprise for their own country, which were impressed by the Colts’ impressive skills. Luis Norton de Matos’ side not only drew the interest of the cricket-crazy nation but also attracted eyeballs from two of the biggest clubs in world – Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur. There have also been reports that Turkish giants Galatasaray attended India’s match against Ghana, eyeing a potential spot for inclusion within their Youth Academy setup.
A number of players have done remarkably well in the ongoing tournament. From keeper Dheeraj Singh to captain Amarjit Singh Kiyam, the side has made news for showing grit against big teams. Among others, Komal Thatal, Jeakson Singh, Aniket Jadhav and Anwar Ali have become known names through the tournament.
Indian football history was created on Monday night at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi as midfielder Jeakson Thounaojam netted India’s first goal in a FIFA World Cup. Trailing 1-0 to Colombia in the second half, India won a corner that Jeakson headed home. His short-lived equaliser sent the home crowd into raptures. Few minutes before, nobody knew about a lad called Jeakson. After the match, the entire country talked about him. And why wouldn’t they? He gave the country devoid of football love and attention some hope. Hope that India will one day be a football giant, a football power to reckon with.
Indian colts had the skills but were too light-weight to buckle under pressure. Let’s take the example of Komal Thatal in the match against USA. He displayed sublime skills but the ball was always snatched from him by the mightier opponents. And even de Matos realises this weakness. “You cannot be a good gymnast if you are very tall or you cannot be an excellent basketball player if you are of 160 metres. For certain positions, height and size does matter,” he had said.
There was a lot of confusion among the fans as well as the media when the FIFA U-17 World Cup refused to sell more tickets saying that the stadium was sold out but there were clearly thousands of empty seats. After reports suggested that the government bought tickets to avoid an embarrassing situation, the Local Organising Committee released a statement saying, “A ticket is sold for a particular match day and not for either of the games. A good
example for this would be the match days one and two at the New Delhi venue even though tickets were sold out for the opening fixtures (5.00 pm kick-off) on both days, the stands were sparsely filled. The second game (8.00 pm kick-off) which featured the hosts, however, had more people attending it making the stands seem more filled.” Another reason given for not selling every seat ticket was security concerns as FIFA rules state that any person sitting in the stadium should be able to reach a safe space in eight minutes.
This is a golden opportunity for the Indian players, who will go on to take part in the tournament, to rub shoulders with the future Messis and Ronaldos of this world. With that being the case, the AIFF should ensure that they give the young kids the best facilities and coaching available in the next two-three years so that they can make the most of this chance.
The AIFF for a long time has ignored youth development, not realizing the importance of a flourishing youth system. If India has aspirations of competing with the best going into the future, focusing on the development of young players and giving them the right facilities to thrive is a must. Hopefully, the AIFF has come to its senses and will put youth development into prime focus going forward.
There is no lack of passion for the game in India, as evidenced by the fact that most young people in the cities nowadays follow the English Premier League fervently. If the AIFF can work towards attaining world class facilities for the players and fans alike come 2017, it will go a long way in ensuring that the Indian fans are receptive towards the Under-17 World Cup due to be hosted in 3 years’ time.
Indian football has been in the doldrums for many years, but this wasn’t always the case. India had qualified for the 1950 FIFA World Cup but the governing body AIFF decided against going to the World Cup due to being unable to bear the cost of travel, lack of practice time and valuing Olympics over the FIFA World Cup. Indian football was at the peak of its powers in the 1950s and early 1960s, but went into decline soon after winning the Asian games gold medal in 1962.
It would be fantastic if Indian football could restore the glory days by tasting the kind of success it achieved in the 1950s and 60s. One can only hope that India hosting the 2017 FIFA Under-17 World Cup is just the beginning of the long overdue revival of football in this country.
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