Indian Football - "I" Factor

Without any doubt football has been one of the most popular sports in the world. People from various parts of the world acknowledge the passion and intensity the sport carries and also the vigour with which it is played in Europe and Latin America is unparallelled. The game is a no-brainer and yet till this day and age it hardly gets the attention it very much deserves in India, with the exception of a few states such as Bengal, Goa and Maharashtra, football cuts through people’s mind only during the FIFA WC and until such time it’s a poor man’s amnesia.

Football has played a major role in uniting the countries that were once torn apart during the times of World War. Just like Cricket in our backyard game, football has its roots deep in England, Brazil, Germany, Italy and a host of other nations that have given birth to some of the great servants of the game. Pele and Maradona are perhaps are the only names that most us are aware of and of more recent memory Messi and Ronaldo make that four.

So why is it that India finds it hard to promote the sport in our country despite various attempts by multinationals, sporting groups both private and government. Upon deep conjecture I would have to dissect this into the what I would like to call as the “I-Factor”.

The first “I” is “I-Income”

Glancing through some of the figures in this website you will find that an average Indian would not be dumb enough to trade his future as a “Software Engineer” for a hard working “Footballer”. On an average a software engineer would at least make 5,00,000 lacs per annum. A Charted accountant would make about the same money and the same could be said for guy working in a “Voice BPO”. I wouldn’t want to disclose the average pay of an average Indian footballer, because quite simply there isn’t an average to compute for.Not so long ago the seats of a criket stadium were being painted by a footballer. This is only how much we know, but for a footballer to make his ends meet is incredibly tough.

The second “I” is “I-Infrastructure”There are about five stadiums in India that are as per FIFA norms. Poor infrastructure, inept management and lackadaisical approach by the government has been consistently killing the optimism that has been on the rise over the past few years. Medical facilities to players, staff and other amenities are still in question. More over though there has been a general growth in private football academies, they are primarily run as a business institution than as service institution. The system has failed to realise the potential India possess. For about 10 years Nehru cup was abandoned due to various reason and one of them being highlighted as “Lack of Sponsorships”. I would have to say that both the common public and the sporting organizations (both private & public) play an equal role in transforming the sate of football in our country. Easier said than done as many would say, but looking at South Korea as an example, which was once trailing India is now perhaps one of the competitive nations in World football.

The third “I” is “I-IPL“

THe INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (Cricket) though not directly responsible for stealing the market for young aspiring players, cricket has always been on the menu for many budding athletes. A year under one of the IPL franchisee’s would earn them a handsome pay. A complete package indeed and as the trends go by it would be a greater test for youngsters to choose passion over price. Cricket has been no less than a religion in our country and this is the part were convincing the convinced has been a tough nut to crack. Replacing cricket with any other sport would be a humongous task for marketers and promoters in the future.

Wait for part 2 for few more.