FIFA World Cup: A distant dream for India
The FIFA World Cup 2010, held last June-July in South Africa, left football lovers around the world in raptures with loads of surprises. Billions of fans turned their attention towards South Africa to support their respective nations. Eventually, many hearts broke and many faces looked dejected as some of the big names in world football made an early exit from the tournament. Nevertheless, what is important is that they were all a part of the entire thrill, enthusiasm, emotions and most importantly, passion.
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Although millions of Indians too were glued to their television sets, the mega sporting event was nothing more than a fun-filled tournament. India’s failure in making even a single appearance at the World Cup is the obvious reason to that. The historic moment in Indian Football is likely to come much later than expected. Meanwhile, as a lament we keep repeating the common question – When will India qualify for the World Cup?
If we compare India’s football standards to those of the World Cup teams, India has a long way to go before stepping into the big tournament. India lags behind in infrastructure, planning, organization and consequently in the standard of the game.
The All India Football Federation (AIFF) has been assuring that the big moment for India will come soon, but it fails to work efficiently in turning the dream into reality. India’s national team head coach Bob Houghton is trying to work towards that goal realistically. However, his effort to keep the national team players together in an eight-month long camp has not been appreciated widely. In fact, the camp has affected the football clubs featuring in India’s biggest club tournament, the I-League. Defending champions Dempo Sports Club are the biggest sufferers as the team comprises of seven international players. Even if the clubs sacrifice their players for the national cause, what would Houghton achieve in eight months when nothing spectacular has happened to Indian Football in the past five decades, when India won their last gold medal at the 1962 Asian Games.
It is not that India lacks talent. It is just that the talent needs to be nurtured. India’s qualification for the Asian Games 2011, points at the progress of the nation. India as hosts of the Nehru Cup international football tournament, have won the title in the past two editions. But how long will the current team serve the nation?
What India fails to realize is that the focus should be on the future and not the present. Hence more emphasis on youth development programmes is necessary. Every professional club registered with the AIFF needs to have an effective youth development programme in place, preferably a full-fledged academy. The Tata Football Academy (TFA) in Kolkata and Sesa Football Academy in Goa are known for producing some exceptional young talents. These academies impart quality all-round training. There is a need for more academies like these to function in the country. Once these are set up, only then can India hope to enter the World Cup.
