Inter-university football league to kick off in October

Considering the fact that inter-collegiate and inter-university sports have taken a back seat due to the lackadaisical attitude of most educational institutions, a dearth of funds and more prominence given to age-group competitions, the launch of the proposed inaugural University Football League (UFL) in India will come as a boost to university sports, and to the beautiful game of football in particular.

A project conceived by real estate company Nirmal and Bhaichung Bhutia Football Schools, the proposed UFL will take place in October-December 2013, and will feature five cities (Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Bangalore and Kochi), 80 colleges and 345 matches. It will be played on a league-cum-knockout basis. Sixteen teams will be allowed to compete from each city, and the top two teams from each will qualify for the 10-team super league to decide the winner.

A total of Rs 20 lakh in prize money is at stake, with the winners pocketing a cool Rs 1 million, while the runner-up will get Rs 5 lakh, and Rs 2.5 lakh will go to the third placed team.

“We hope to increase the number of cities to 10 in the second year and take that to 20-30 in the third and fourth year,” Bhaichung Bhutia said at a press conference in Mumbai today to announce the initiative. The former India ace added that promising players spotted during the course of the tournament could be given professional contracts with his club, United Sikkim FC, besides facilitating their entry into alternate professions within the football industry, such as coaching, administration, sports management, etc.

When asked whether the All India Football Federation was backing the championship, the one time ‘Sikkimese Sniper’ said that they would “definitely seek their blessings” for the endeavour.

Nirmal CMD Dharmesh Jain said that the ever increasing fan-following for football across the nation has prompted his company to launch the UFL and make football the next big sport in India.

Dwelling on the challenges confronting Indian football, Bhutia said that strong youth development programmes and infrastructure were the need of the hour, and the game had to be spread to the colleges and universities across the country. He however emphasized that clubs would have to play a “major role” in youth development, which was not happening as things stand, acknowledging his responsibility as a club owner too.

Asked about the prospects of his club, United Sikkim FC, averting relegation from the I-League this season, Bhutia fervently hoped that they would be able to avoid the drop zone. “We have been playing well, but so many things have conspired against us — penalties not given, cards handed out to our players and conceding goals in the dying minutes of the game,” he explained.

He was however ambivalent when posed a question to pick out the winner of the 2012-13 I-League. “It’s going to be extremely tight and there are at least three teams in a good position to win it. I would say it would depend on how participation in the AFC Cup will impact the two front-runners (East Bengal and Churchill Brothers),” he averred.

Bhutia also said that too much need not be read into the result of the recent friendly against Palestine, when the ‘Blue Tigers’ crashed to a 2-4 defeat at Kochi.

“In friendly matches, results are not everything at the end of the day. It’s about experimenting and giving chances to players and there were quite a few youngsters playing for the first time.”