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Karanjit Singh is one of many India internationals that Sukhwinder has mentoredPhoto Credit: AIFF Media
It has been 17 years since the NFL started but despite it being rebranded as the I-League in 2007, the country’s top most league competition has become a fading product and the man who won the first season believes the inaugural campaign remains the best till date.
“I feel the first national league from all angles was the best as matches were regularly shown on television and the broadcasting was impressive with pre-match and post-match shows. Even the attendances were quite good. After that there have been changes but none of them have been valuable and as a result we see empty stadiums for the majority of matches,” he opined.
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Although the return of Sukhwinder Singh in the I-League will be a great sight for many Indian football fans who have grown up watching him being in charge of JCT and India, it’s worth reminding that this maybe the last time we see him in charge of an I-League club because as per new impending rules anyone without an AFC A coaching license (and in some years, AFC Pro License) won’t be allowed to be the technical director.
In some countries like England, a special diploma coaching course was introduced for coaches with ten years or more experience but Sukhwinder can’t see that happening in India.
“Rules are rules so we will have to follow that. It (honorary coaching degrees) is not possible now. If the Federation had taken interest it could have been done much before,” he said.
The biggest talking point in Indian football at present is the pros and cons of the newly-proposed IPL-style football tournament. The former India coach is strongly against the concept.
“For me it doesn’t make any sense to introduce IPL concept in football. Club football already exists in India, so I don’t see the need of another new league. I don’t think both IPL and I-League can work smoothly,” he concluded.
