Mahindra United and School Football

When Mahindra United dropped the bombshell that they were quitting the I-League last year I was stunned like everyone else. When the initial shock subsided, it occurred to me that this might not be such a bad thing for Indian football. Mahindra had invested huge amounts of money over the years into Indian football, in a very professional manner and if that could be re-focussed on youth, then in the long term it might be of greater benefit than maintaining a senior team.

Its a lot more than just a club now. Its the spirit of Football.

Youth football is very weak in India and is the biggest reason why India lags so far behind the top Asian nations. Nor the AIFF neither the state governments take responsibility for the development of young players so Mahindra’s interest can only help. Mahindra have begun in style by launching a National schools tournament in conjunction with Scottish giants Celtic FC.

There is a but though. I am concerned that giving cash prizes is a step in the wrong direction. Firstly, for a true sports person winning is its own reward. The two biggest problems I see with youth football in India are that there is not enough of it going on and that age group cheating continues. There is not a lack of competitiveness in Indian youth sport so there seems little point in providing incentives in the tournaments with cash prizes. By putting the money there it will make teams more likely to indulge in age cheating and put more pressure on the outcome of the matches. Developing players need to play more matches under less pressure. I would recommend that for next year, Mahindra encourage a greater number of teams to take part and increase the number of matches for each team.

Mahindra must still be congratulated for the work that they are doing. There is no doubt that this will significantly raise the profile of school football and Mahindra are moving school football in the right direction.