I-League - National Football League :: Mechanised Crushing And It's Mechanism Failure

Pic - :: The Crushing Of A System By Mechanical Mechanism 

I-League - National  Football League :: Why Has It Failed

 There have been a lot of reasons , which ,  has been cited that the I-League or the National League has failed, but my personal feeling is- THESE KIND OF FEELINGS ARE AND ARE TRANSPLANTED .  The I-League has not failed , it has been made to fail and purposely to remove it and to bring in more and more of Shah Rukh Khan, Sourav Ganguly , Sachin Tendulkar into the game of football and make it CASH-COW the I League has been purposely made to feel as if it has failed and after some times we would see that the I-League will completely disappear from the scenario of Indian football .

Take the example of the Karnataka Football Association.

The I-League is the one which gives about Rs 6.60 Lakhs in particular every year from the gate to the Karnataka Football Stadium Associtaion at Bangalore with an average attendance of 2000 spectators every match .  A place like Bangalore which has lost all its football tradition, heritage and culture was reviewed just because the I-League was played here . There were a lot of young boys who had registered at the Austin Town Football ground to learn football at Bangalore, opposite to the Iyengar Bakery to become footballer The attendance had so much grown that the ground authorities had to divide the boys into age category had had to start the practice – cum – coaching from 1.00PM to the end of the day then to accommodate the boys playing football Three different categories of the boys and also the girls would mix with the boys to play football. This I saw with my naked eye as Austin Town is a place where  the late, Carlton Chapman  had stayed , at his mother’s ancestors house and I have visited that house quite often .

Every time when a Bangalorean team played against the visiting team at Bangalore in the I-League there use to be about 2000 spectators of which there were about 1000 young toddlers who would sit at the football stadium to see either a Biachung, or a I M Vijayan or a Carlton Chapman playing and would enjoy their game. They would say with pride that one day I will also play like Baichung or Carlton or Vijayan for india. That was the electricity that the I-League use to provide to these toddlers

Slowly the tourney started losing its grip and there were quite a reason for the same.I shall lay it here one by one-:

1). There is a strategy- the “ IGMSOD “ growth strategy in marketing G here stands for Growth and M here stands for Maturity The I-League was growing and it slowly thereafter entered the maturity age No sooner that a product enters the maturity age the change in the structure of the product ought to be made. It could be a change in design, a change in the shape. A change in the pricing policy, a change in the differentiation of the product or a change in the placement of the product .  Instead of doing it the A I F F changed the channel which telecast the game and gave it to ESPN which again is a BULLSHIT channel , useless to say ,  with all the BULLSHIT compere knowing nothing about the game started talking on the game and bringing in experts like Alvito De Cunha , Sunil Chettri Noel , and some others like them to speak on the game They were footballers and not the PUNDITS of the game and they severely failed to speak on the technicalities and the strategies of the game That took away the viewers from the game

2). The worst they did was bring the not needed and never wanted kind of some unusual entertainment and luxuries which were abysmal and out of the requirement to the game Why did it was reinforced to the game – they  brought into the game  . Completely apeing the I P L system of presenting the  not wanted and not required elements into the game, the A I F F brought in some kind of a girls to shake their body if a goal was scored  . This was totally disliked by the viewers as they felt like seeing the telecast in the house with these kind of an act with the youngers and the toddlers in the house was an abject to the tradition and culture. Slowly the viewers and the attendance of the TV viewers also failed and it started falling

3). The representative should have been in the ratio of 3: 2 : 2: 2 : 1 in terms of the team participating which means that for every ten teams participating, there should have been three teams from Kolkatta , two from Goa, two from the South with atleast one from Kerala two from the West with atleast one as a institutional team and one from the North – East at least This would have stretched the teams and its reach to all over India and would have ensured a proper reach and layout of this game in all over India . That did not happen. There was a time when there was six teams from West ( Salgaocar, Dempo, Churchill,Vasco and one more from Goa and Mahindra United from Mumbai with three teams from Kolkatta and only one from South the H A L .  This uneven system definitely hit the tournament . When you have the entire population of the North East watching the game and if you do not field any team from that region how do you expect your viewership to remain static. The viewership of the ESPN , a channel that I use to call them as (E)kach (S)ada ( P)an ( N)antar if it falls obviously they would back out from the telecast or they would demand to telecast at a very low fee

The obvious step should have been that reduce the teams from the Goans to three with the first three standings to those teams from their local league chosen and providing one place to the team from North East and one from the North as a wild card entry.  Using the brain the organizer should have used the wild card system and should have gone forward with the team . The system of choosing one institutional team atleast and placing them would have kept the teams like the Air-India, or the B S F or the Punjab Police alive with the hope and they would have inducted youngsters from their region to play their game by inducting them as a partial footballer for the teams to just play football for their team in the I-League and once it was over their services would be done away with. The M R C Madras use to follow this formulae of playing the game in the Durand Cup and that gave us a goalkeeper like Peter Thangaraj during those times .

Uselessly TALKING and WALKING with Sourav Ganguly or Sachin Tendulkar will NEVER improve football. .Jamaica had qualified for the 1998 World Cup and Usain Bolt was emerging as a TERRIFIC star in the field of SPRINT and ATHLETICS but nobody would go  to walk with him Jamaicans left him to his fate and the football moved ahead with its planning .The end and it’s  result was - Usain Bolt was a WORLD STAR . Here we always walk with Sachin and Sourav-  We are nowhere and nothing in Football and to what an extent our standard had deteriorated could be guazed by the fact that in a recent International, we lost to U.A.E by 6-0 .

If you are playing with 10 teams why can’t you stretch it to 11 and why can’t you play an institutional team which will ablest and atleast,  produce players from that pool. In the previous years and the history of Indian Football,  we got Jarnail Singh, Parminder Singh, Narendra Gurung from the B S F and we got Magan Singh, Manoranjan Bhattacharjee from the Rajasthan Police and West Bengal Police. Manoranjan played one season in 1974 for the West Bengal Police in the Kolkatta Football League We just do not have any teams from the Railways now at the local level to field its football team because EXCEPT the MONEY the A I F F does not stretches its BLOODY BRAIN to make the game alive for them To promote football the game has to be taken to the Railways the Police the B S F etc to supply the talent Where will be talent come from ? .

4). Completely failure of the exposure to international football-: This is a game that requires the game to throw strategies , technicalities and new learning ideas during  every phase as the game moves on. From the 5-3-2-1 system of football it became 4-2-4-1 , then it became 4-3-3-1 then it became 3—3 – 4- 1 then it became 1-5-4-1 the Diamond System then it became 1-3-1-5-1 system Each phase has brought about a new concept of formation and each formation saw the module of the game changing The game has so changed that now the two Central stoppers are scoring the goals for their teams by free kicks and headers from the corners and the midfielders are falling back to assist the defence when the defenders overlaps to create and build an attack and from there they initiate the moves for attack. The pattern of football in India is the same and the clubs are not taking any risk to change the players at all because of many a reason and one of them being the payments etc. The performance has dipped  .This has taken away the spectators from the game and the viewers from the TV

The BIG CLUBS just to save their false prestige of their clubs like Mohun Bagan are bringing players from abroad by paying a heavy fee and just winning the trophies to keep their fans happy Actually nothing is improving in their standard. It is just to somehow keep themselves afloat by winning the trophies by hook or crook One Chima Okerie, one Barretto, one Sony Norde is not the answer of Indian football. It might have filled the trophy cascade of either the East Bengal or Mohun Bagan but has it taken the standard of the soccer at any height even after Chima or Barretto had come to India. These Chima and the Barretto have completely failed in the A F C Cups or any other cups that they played either for East Bengal or Mohun Bagan. We in the last 25 years have produced only FOUR footballers namely Baichung Bhutia, Carlton Chapman , I M Vijayan and Joe Paul Anchery That is the reason our football has been grounded to dust. See the others and see ourself Compare ourself with China or Japan or South Korea There were seven to eight Baichung that was available for them at each position when it came to selecting their national teams and we had only one. That made the score to read like Kuwait 6 India 0 or Japan 7 India 0 , or at present U.A.E 6 , India 0.

It is because our system of Football and the I League was not stretched afar and to all It was limited to East Bengal, Mohun Bagan , Salgaocar , Dempo and Churchill Brothers. You cannot get seven to eight Baichungs for every position available if your system is limited to these five club teams These five club teams will have only 55 players playing How can you have eight or seven Baichung if you limit your self to 55 players always.

Coming back to the point, after the passge of the sixth or the seventh year of the I-League the A I F F should have brought in ONE team of a good standard to regularly play in the I-League main with our club teams for a period of three years Say Sao Paolo second division side could have been contracted to play in the main I-League against our team in the I-League for three years They would have every year won the championship but our boys playing against them would have learned a lot and some innovation would have come to the game.

The Trophy could have been a GLADIATOR CUP for the team which won the I-League and that would have been Sao Paolo but the I-League would have been any Indian club side which would have finished second to the Gladiators. Incentives like an additional fifty lakhs would be awarded to the team which uproots the Foreign team to win the championship and the winning coach would be richer by three lakhs of rupee if he won the I-League toppling the Gladiators but that did not happen If it had happened the entire scenario would have been different The gate collection would have been tremendous, the sponsorship would have been a different tale to tell and the viewership also would have been a different tale to tell- BUT THEN WHO THE HELL CARES. Norway adopted this system from 1958 to 1974 bringing clubs from Italy France and Germany to play in their national league and Denmark to had this system in their football between the period 1968 to 1978 getting teams from Holland and France to play in their national league  .Just see how their system of football has improved They have qualified for the World Cup proper .

After the contract some other B Division club side from Argentina, then again from Holland, then again from Germany etc should have been continued. You could have brought in some good teams from Japan Korea and that could have helped raise the standard of the game here at India and in the root level you could have had many youngsters coming to football and playing football and that would have changed the dyanamic of the viewership, the quality of the game, the standard of football etc. Who will not go to the stadium to watch a qualitative Brazil or an Argentine team playing. The AIFF does not have or possess these qualities at all to think when it comes to BLOODY thinking about the game .You have to be very FLEXIBLE and DYANAMIC when it comes to proper planning and expedition

When it comes to it we run for a Scahin Tendulkar, a Sourav Ganguly, A Madam Ambani or a John  Abraham, ( That Bollywood Hero ) I think so Abraham. KYA MILNAY WAALAH HAI, if I have to say, what will you get out of these NON-FOOTBALLING-ENTITIES.  They will be in the game till their pocket keep on filling the notes and the currency notes but once that dips they will leave the scenario And- DO THEY KNOW FOOTBALL AND ITS GAMUIT AT ALL. They are ARDENT lovers of the game- NOT the one’s who can TURN the FLUCTUATIONS of the game . Ask Sachin- WHO IS SAMPANGI RAMAN & WHAT IS HIS IMPORTANCE TO INDIAN FOOTBALL : HIS ANSWER WOULD BE-“ SMILE “.This kind of a smile cannot be useful either for him or for Football, or for anybody.

Smile has it’s own reason to conquer. When a Lady smiles at you- she is signaling you that her gate is open to you. When a Man smiles at somebody, he acknowledges that he is in a same line to be on the same wavelength with you. Simply smiling just to smile means NOTHING.

 That advertisement of Binaca toothpaste of 1964 to 1974  - MERAY SANSO MAI TU MERAY SAPNON MAI TU HAI TUJHSAY MERA DUNIYA HASEEN O BINACA GREEN that will never help be it Sourav, Sachin, John Abraham or Madam Ambani flashing their smile before or after the game. Mind you , this is 2021 . 

 Kerala Blaster  will “ BLAST” after reading this. Kerala BLASTED the Indian soccer and its scene in 1973 when they for the first time won the Santosh Trophy under the captainship of M.S.Mani , when they beat Indian Railways by 2-1 and that tourney threw in a player by the name of Xavier Pius who later was to become an household name in the annals of Indian soccer. That year another South India by the name of Ulaganathan from Mysore came into prominence in Indian soccer

 EVERYTHING THAT GLITTERS IS NOT GOLD- and the kind of a  GLITTERING MONEY,  infact the loose money that has come to Indian Football just has NOT produced any Gold for India since the last 25 years as the I-League is celebrating it’s SILVER JUBILEE and it will NEVER produce it after watching the U.A.E team nailing us by 6-0.

I-League :: What And Why Is That This League Has failed In India 

I League for that matter was the BEST thing that had happened to Indian football  .The vagaries of trouble from one place to another , the different conditions under which the matches were played , the different players from different clubs and playing against them at times in front of our home crowd and at times in front of their crowd all these made the things very difficult and hard .It provided a true kind of an atmosphere for the players to adapt quickly and to learn .  Matches played were rough at times and tough at times. The game situation was very different at every time and the pressure mounted was enormous . In between one would see a different kind of a tale emerging out of the game when all of a sudden one would find that the minnows had gulped the sharks. The classic example was when Vasco beat Mohun Bagan by 5-1 in an I-League encounter

What is the reason that today all of a sudden this tournament amongst all ,  all of a sudden has become a money failing poor resource pooling tourney The facts are-:

1). Non stretchability - : If you concise your self to Goa and Kolkatta all your football tourney would b reduced to ash . The ratio should be three top teams from Kolkata three top teams from Goa, two top teams from South one team each from North East and North and one wild card for the institutional team it could be BSF or Air India or Punjab Police or any team from the institutions and ONE team for SURE that could be called as the AIFF XI which would have players from the age of 17 to 23 participating in this tourney only to get the exposure so that they could transform them to the next higher echelon of Indian football

2). REACH-: These matches should be telecast by the Doordarshan Sports rather than the USELESS HD1 HD2 HD3 and so hence and so forth  .Doordarshan has 1100 transmitting station and these can be reached to the nook and the corner of the country Why give it to HD1 and so on and so forth WHY ? . It is the DD who should be given the territorial rights and NOT the others to telecast these matches

3). Commentators-: Bring in those commentators who can in simple words explain the game and can talk on the finer points of football rather than bringing in those who do not know football at all . If your team of commentators are poor and if they do not know the intricacies and the vagaries of Indian football you will never have the magnetic touch to attract the viewers

4). Rather than having ONE main sponsor have a team of sponsor . It should be like  one MAIN sponsor, Associated Sponsor, Assistant Sponsor , GOVERNMENT SPONSOR and so on and so forth. Unless and until you have a pool of sponsorship you will never be able to stand up to the needs of spending the money and building the Indian team .

 . 5). Chalk out the planning for the match .  Target say 5000 spectators at UNEVEN place at more than 60 000 at the even . Places like Bangalore, Nagpur could be uneven and places like Kolkatta etc could be even . If there is a match that is played or to be played say between Air-India and East Bengal- WHY THE HELL YOU CHOOSE MUMBAI . You choose Nagpur, you choose Jabalpur or Siliguri , you choose Raipur ands see the spectators that would flow into the game. Want to see that Hold TWO matches of the I-League one at Siliguri , and the another one at Raipur . Approach the Hon’ble Chief Minister of Chattisgarh , for help and publicity. Just see the spectators that would flow into the ground to see the matches and just see the gate revenue that would come out of it. Why is that and why the HELL that you have to choose Mumbai for everything . Just see the kind of a HELLUVISM for football in these area asa the hell would breal loose amongst the people to watch these kind of matches ,  and the kind of spectators that would come to see the matches here

Arrange a match at Nagpur between East Bengal and any team and see the crowd . You will have the entire Yeshwant Stadium full . Why is that you are limited to those places where there is no crowd You and your POOR general knowledge is responsible for the HELL that you people have made it for I-League else I-League has its own glamour

6). To attract the viewers looking the game on the TV- put QUIZ on Indian football and arrange to award them by awarding the gift vouchers per match and announce a BUMPER prize after the tournament. See the number of viewers that would be attached and glued to the TV.

7). Invite ONE good qualitative foreign team to play as an GLADIATOR for a period of two to three years .  Once that’s team contract is over attract the another one then the other one . This will go on and on and change the countries from where you bring in this team . You will get to have many people and spectators flocking to the stadium to see the matches. That will help you to expose your budding footballers to the modern vagaries of the game

8). Draw out an incentive schemes for the players as well as the coach . Say when East Bengal or Salgaocar plays against say Sao Paulo XI put a clause to East Bengal that if they do not concede more than three goals in the entire tie the Coach will be gifted Rs 1500=00 or Rs 2000=00 for the tie Again if any player scores a goal against Sao Paolo he would be gifted the same amount for scoring the goals against them. The mentality of the players and the coach will change. Who knows some good strategies and the match planning would come out of the same.

9). Different level of target for different team should be fixed . An Air India team is not as strong as Mohun Bagan or Salgaocar .If three goals limit is fixed for the SHARKS as to not to concede the goals against the invited foreign team it should be 5 goals for these kind of Institutional teams. An institutional team like BSF/Punjab Police say will NEVER be able to rope in or get the foreigners because they will never be able to recruit them. That apart the standard of a team which is professional is different from the standard of a team which is institutional. Even then an Army XI a BSF a Punjab Police , these Jawans would fight like anything before putting their arms down to the other teams . It is because of their mentatlity . It is very necessary to have the Army unit and or the Police unit as an invitee representative team every year to play in the I-League .

10). Get the mentality out of your skull, nuts and the brain to concise this football tournament limited to only the Goans and the Kolkattans  .States like Kerala, Karnataka , Manipur have won the Santosh Trophy and states like Mizoram, Shillong etc have made a solid impact in the Subroto Cup by sending their teams to win this cup . Extends your reach to every team and to every nook and corner of the country

11). Use the WILD CARD system of invitation to invite some teams from India which could have an meaning to the system . When a wild card could be given at the WORLD CUP TOURNAMENT proper to have a meaningful country get a chance to qualify why not extend it in India . In 2002 Brazil had qualified by the wild card system of qualifiers by beating Australia by 2-0 at Australia They then went onto win the Cup beating Germany by 2-0  .If they could be extended that advantage why not we here at India to some institutional team say the ARMY XI team or the B S F or the Punjab Police , say.  That will really help football to grow

12). Focus in building up the local talents instead of having all the foreigners. Limit the foreigners in the I-League to three at the most . Make it mandatory for each participating team to have ONE foreigner only at the forward, one at the mid-field and one at the defense . Only three foreigners allowed that is it We have seen foreigners TWO at the forward, two at the defense This is totally illogical By doing it you are blocking the growth of the Indian talent and making them a RABBIT rather than HORSE-DE-COMBAT. This system also has been responsible for taking away the viewers from the game that would watch the game on the TV set and in a way also would restrict the growth and the flow of the Indian talent

13). Bring in good commentators who could speak on the game and mix it beautifully with the tactics strategy and variability of the game to speak on it .  Have a historian to speak only about the history and co relates the history with the game . That would be better . We have had historian speaking on the tactical analysis of the game . That was a poor talk . A man who never has played football- how do you expect him/her to talk on tactics and strategy

14). Bring in some good women footballers as well to talk on the game and comment on it There are good women footballers who can talk on the game . They too have played for India Open and provide a chance for the women’s too to talk on the game in the TV set  .That will attract a lot of women viewers

15). Choose venues like Jabalpur , Nagpur , Raipur , Siliguri , some places from Kerala always to play these matches irrespective of the fact whether the teams from those place qualify or not for the event proper .You will have a tremendous flow of spectators  . Did not Argentina travel to Nigeria in 1974 to play a World Cup qualifying match against Peru , the fact being Nigeria was not even qualifying for the world cup. It was an attempt by the FIFA to keep football alive at Nigeria even they did not qualify for the World Cup .

You have to have an open mind rather than concising your self to Kolkatta and Goa. Football is NOT the FATHER’S PROPERTY of either the Goans or the Kolkattans .

I would also like to write and add about the MONEY - SHARING between the teams and the A.I.F.F. as this holds importance and it ought to be taken very seriously.

Money sharing-:

It is and it was good to hear that the I-League committee reimburses to all the club teams every penny that they spend on travelling, lodging and boarding immediately after each encounters

I was talking to Mr Swapan Bal sometimes in 2003 when he was here with the East Bengal football team  . At that time my personal relation with him was good and was very good. We shared many a close moments together but this got worst in or at a time when that Brazilian Coach was the Incharge of East Bengal ..

At that time Mr Swapan Bal had told me that everyday the A I F F pays us Rs 678=00 per day per player for the expenditure which we term as DA. This helps us in a big way , However he went on to add that from the Club’s coffer the Club has to shell out Rs 1100=00 everyday. That is something which the A I F F ought to rethink Mr Swapan Bal was right .The total expenditure thus comes to about Rs 1778=00 per day and this was way back in 2003.Since then the prices and the cost have escalated.  This to some extent ought to be given a THOUGHT by the AIFF.

Let me tell you another incidence . I was the Sub – Editor ( Sports ) at the HITAVADA, Nagpur and in 1981 and  there was a ARCHERY Camp held at Amravati at Hanuman Vyayayam Prasarak, Amravati. This infact is a Physical Training and Education imparting College at Amravati, Maharashtra which was about four hours of journey from Nagpur. I was told by the local in-charge of the camp Mr Sharma who was a Professor of that College that the Government of India was spending during that time, Rs 35-00 per day on food everyday , for  everyplayer attending the Camp.

A few days afterward, I was send to Delhi to cover all about the football camp that was on at New Delhi of the Asian Games Indian Football team . There also I was told that the diet allowance per day per team was Rs 35= 00 per day . I eventually ran into a Journalist from Holland, a Lady Journalist who had come all the way from Amsterdam to India to cover these Asian Games and she was asked to remain in India lest these Games got over . She was with me in the Camp attending the same to cover up the report about how the various camps were moving ahead for the preparation of India’s contingent for the Asiad

When she came to know from the authorities of the Games responsible for holding these camps, and all about Rs 35=00 per day per players as the diet allowance she started laughing. The first thing she said to me was- What is your per day expenses from your employers for the diet . I said – AS PER ACTUALS but not exceeding Rs 100=00 per day.She said DITTO here, Then she added- HOW COMES THAT YOU EXPECT OUR ATHELETES TO WIN THE GOLD AND THE MEDALS IF ONLY Rs 35=00 OUGHT TO BE SPENT PER PLAYER PER DAY AT THESE CAMP WHERE WILL THE NECCESARY ENERGY COME FROM. I totally agree to what Mr Swapan Bal and that Lady told me about the same.

 A total of Rs 678=00 given by the A I F F pewr day per player to play the I-League maybe a good idea however the club was spending Rs 1100=00 additionally.That could have been the amount which might have included the lodging allowance as well which the club was bearing it per day per player . The A I F F should think of increasing this amount It should pay Rs 1200=00 per day per player as the costing too has increased and leave the remaining to be borne by the club.

That Journalist Lady Friend from Amsterdam later JOKED on me under the umbrella of India-:

Rs 35-00 per day per player as DIET ALLOWANCE. NO MEDAL NO GOLD AS INDIA CHEWING Rs 35=00 PER DAY THERE ON THE GROUND BECOMED OLD , BECOMES OLD .

Just imagine about  myself. I was paid a monthly salary of Rs 4,00=00 during those days but my employers had granted me a sum of Rs100=00 per day for my diets And compare it with these players who were to play India in the Asiad Football in 1982 , they were paid a daily allowance of Rs 35=00 per day per player for the entire day's diet. The fact that India made it to the quarters in that Asiad itself was more than a glory

The Iraquis won the Gold then beating Kuwait by 1-0 in the finals . They were paid a daily allowance of Rs 300=00 per day till their players remained at the national camp while preparing their team for the Asiad football 1982 That and there lies the difference.

It is a fact . If you have to pay Rs 35=00 per day per player at the camp ( year 1981) you cannot win GOLD. THE INDIAN PLAYERS ALL OVER SINCE THEN TO NOW HAVE BEEN WINNING THE MEDALS FROM THE MENTAL STRENGTH THAT THEY HAVE AND THEY PRODUCE WHILE PLAYING. NOT BECAUSE THEY ARE LOOKED AFTER WELL.

It is here that the A I F F has to come up with some solutions and alternative. It is good that they pay Rs 5,000=00 per player for the Man-Of-The-Match per game, it is good they reimburse the Air fare on actuals and it is good that they also reimburse the hotel/lodging expenses of every team but this needs to be thought about and the expenses towards the food etc ought to be hiked Without a proper diet which includes Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner and which also includes a light refreshment at the venue where the matches are held after the game is over- you cannot keep the players in full “ light “ of “ playing flight “ and it is essential that a raise in the actuals may be hiked.

Worlds over there is a policy of sharing the money and after having studies that and taking into account that the A I F F would bring in a GLADIATOR team ( GOD KNOWS WETHER THEY WOULD ) .I would suggest that the sharing ought to be in the ratio of 3:2:2:2:1 which means that for every Ten bugs earned, the AIFF should keep with it Rs 3=00, the Gladiator team ought to be given Rs 2=00 , the two clubs playing ought to be given Rs 2=00 each and Re 1=00 ought to be kept with the A I F F as a RESERVE amount This amount ought to be there at the bank of the A I F F to maintain its own expenses that may accrue to them to meet their incidental non-recurring expenses. There maybe be a out of turn expenses arising and the A I F F should have that amount to take care of itsef.

Suppose from the gate collection an amount of Rs 1,50,000=00 is collected by the A I F F . then this ought to be shared in the ratio of 3:2:2:2 :1 which means the AIFF ought to keepRs 45,000=00 plus Rs 15,000=00 ie Rs 60,000=00 with them and pay the other clubs accordingly

Similarly the proceed that accrues from the TV rights , advertisement, sponsorship etc ought to be spend in that manner . The AIFF may not share the TV rights with the clubs or the sponsorship with the clubs as they pay and reimburse all the lodging expenses and also pay for the boarding( food/lunch….. et a) but the gate collection ought to be shared as the spectators come to watch the team and not the A I F F

An attempt also ought to be made by the AIFF to collect advertisement and pool a long list of sponsorship like adding Associate sponsor, Assistant Sponsor, Niche Sponsor for the period of time fixing the sponsor for say five years atleast, four years atleast. That will help. It is imperative that the AIFF thinks on these lines. Over the year the sponsors have come with a big heart and have reduced the sponsorship amount .It is because their returns were very poor or average . If a GLADIATOR principle of team is allowed, the way they had done at Norway and Denmark to upscale their standard of football and good teams, ie , club teams from Brazil, Argentina, Honduras, Paraguay , Uruguay and some other European nation is invited and they are asked to play in out I-League believe me- THE SCENARIO WOULD CHANGE FOR EVER AND THE KIND OF THE SPECTATORS YOU WOULD GET TO THE GROUND WOULD BE UNIMAGINABLE. The TV viewership will escalate so BOMBASTICALLY that your head will go for a spin . And the sponsors- THEY WILL COME FLAT AT YOUR KNEE. You NEED to CHANGE your MINDSET.

Why Do I write all these-: Take ONE example of the Nehru International Cup held in 1990a at Kolkatta .You had TEAMS playing for the FIRST time instead of COUNTRY playing. There was ONE team “ OLYMPIA, PARAGUAY “ that had come here to play .They had won the finals .That tournament also saw Emeka Ezugo playing in India for the last time for Mohammedan Sporting . He was adjudicated as the BEST player of that NEHRU CUP. Did you notice WHAT WAS THE ATTENDANCE OF THE SPECTATORS at the Salt lake stadium. It was 90,000 spectators per match .There lay the difference .If you have ONE qualitative team EVERY THING WOULD CHANGE . Cubillas ( pronounced as Cubbiaas) who was the player of Peru for the World Cup in 1978 was the coach of that team. It was he who said that after the tournament that- INDIA SHOULD ALWAYS INVITE THE FOREIGN TEAM AS A CLUB TO PLAY ITS INTERNATIONAL TOURNAMENT “ He said that after watching the Indian team especially the Mohammedan Sporting team for the kind of display they produced against those TOUGH and ROUGH as well as ACUTE and ASTUTE professionals. What a performance it was by Mohammedan  Sporting with Jamshid Nassiri coaching the Mohammedans and Emeka laying those golden touches. What a game did Illyas Pasha play in that tourney in 1990. Illyas Pasha then was whisked away by East Bengal in 1991 and from 1991 to 2000 Illyas pasha was East bengal’s defense forte.That is how a player emerges out and that is how a team performs when it is pitted against the BEST at times. AIFF stick to my advise for the payment/ resources sharing ad call in the GLADIATIRS from Brazil., Argentina Latin America and the Europen countries. Expose them to these Indians and expose the Indians to them. Give them the expertise to take on the worlds best You will see a PARADIGM change and that would be better for the Indian football.

Another example was the I F A Shield tourney in 1985 where the Uruguayan team PENAROL and a Russian team  Donetsk Shakhtar , basically from Kiev , Ukraine now,  was invited to play alongside and alongwith East Bengal and Mohun Bagan May I remind- WHAT WAS THE PERFORMANCE DISHED OUT BY EAST BENGAL What was the game that East Bengal played against Penarol The score was 1-1 Mind you Penarol that year had won the WORLD FOOTBALL CLUB TITLE at Japan Do you all remember the goal scored by Aloke Mukherjee againt them, It was a 50 yard pile driver which curled then swung, then dipped into their goal The Uruguayan coach was surprised to see that .Well that match saw East Bengal losing to them by 2-4 in the penalties.

The Equation Of The Followers And The Spectators That Moves The Game - :: 

Accommodating the spectators & pricing the tickets for I-League :

FOOTBALL IS THE GAME FOR THE “ RAGS “ . ONE NEEDS TO TURN THE GAME FOR THE “ RICHES “ IN AN MANNER , FOR THE RAGS AND THE RICHES TO ENJOY THE FORTUNE OF THE GAME !!!!!!!

This is ONE of the most important step that the I-League committee ought to decide and discuss. The moot question here would be how to attract the youngsters for football matches to see and view the game.

It is the conglomeration of the youngsters and the young generation especially the youth- both the male and the female to come to the stadium and watch the matches

I can assure you that the problem would not be at Kolkatta or at Siliguri or at Kalyani for the people to come and watch the matches . Football in West Bengal will remain and the root is deep-rooted and there would not be any such problems at all

I can fairly bet and say that if you arrange a football match of the I-League with the top flight professional club at either Nagpur or Raipur at Chattisgarh, the attendance will be nowehere less than atleast 5000 people watching it . That is for sure

The problem lies with the places like Bangalore where the entire attendance is not more than 1000. Here is what the organiser would have to strategise the things to enhance the attendance and chalk out the strategy

It is imperative to build a customer base for the matches that ought to be played at some centre. You do not really have to also bother when the match is played at Goa because there also the attendance would never be less than say about 5 to 7 thousand of people at the minimum and at the most about 10,000 of spectators at the maximum.

The attendance in places and venues like Bangalore has fallen steeply . Bangalore at point point of a time use to hold the Stafford Cup where atleast 7 thousand specatators use to come and watch the game. In 1985 when East Bengal here won the Fed Cup as a SINGLE TITLE holder for the first time beating Mohun Bagan by 1-0 in the finals, there were about 10,000 spectators who had come to the ground to watch the finals inspite of the fact that the two teams playing in the finals were not the Bangalorean teams.

Why is that Bangalore has seen such a step decline in both- the standard of the game as well as decline of the spectators over the last 30 years The reason are-:

1). Bangalore football was based on the Institutional teams like the I T I, H A L , C I L and so on and so forth . Within the passage of the time these institution either have winded up or they are finding very hard to manage a football team because of the rising and escalation of the cost. They have given up because their institution in some case has wounded up. The classic case is the case of I T I, the winner of the inaugural Fed Cup in 1977

2). Those players who played this game in the seventies and the eighties for some of the popular team of Bangalore have either expired or retired from their profession . Substitution in their place has not been done and no players further have been appointed because now-a-days the jobs on the basis of games/ appointment by the principles of players quota for appointment for the job has been over in most of the institution . As there are no jobs allotted in the Government sector especially in these institution the players playing football for these clubs has gone . Obviously Bangalore finding no teams from their place in the annals of the I-League now-a-days the Bangalorens do not go to the stadium at all to see the matches.

3). Hotch-Potch scheduling of the I-League matches by the A I F F is another example . For example when you have two institution or an institutional teams say B S F playing against sat East Bengal in the away encounter why can’t you allot Bangalore as the centre for that game of I-League . What is the use for a team of Bengal to travel to Delhi by air, then board the train for Punjab and travel to reach Jullundur and then play the game and then take the same route for home back. WHY CAN’T ALLOT THE SAME GAME TO BANGALORE. This will cut off the travel time, secondly Bangalore is accessible very easily by Air and then the facilities at Bangalore is 100 times better than that of Jullundur These kind of away matches involving B S F if they qualify for the I-League this year as an institutional team or a team like say Punjab Police or a team like Air-India will find Bangalore an easy option to play their matches .Otherwise also here the people will be connected to football on a continuous basis with football and their love of the game will bring them to the stadium.

Over the years what we have seen is either the H A L or the I T I whenever and the time till it was there – they use to be displaced to the second division of the I-League and one of the team use to be scratched from the I-League as it did not qualify from the I-League second division to the first Totally uprooted from the game in the I-League took away the spectators from attending the matches at the stadium . This continued for over and over a period of time as a result the condition now has reached a point where the old lovers of football at Bangalore do not come at all to the stadium to watch the matches

Again- There should be an enclosure in almost every part of the places at India where the football matches are held for the senior citizen. A SENIOR-CITIZEN enclosure ought to be separately placed at every stadium where these football matches are held .It helps them. The seniors find it hard to adjust with the youngsters of these generation in the football stadium because the younger generation come to the stadium for full amusement and enjoyment. Their behaviour etc irks the Senior citizens. The CLOSE-UP MIBE attitudes of clicking the selfies and the other attributes irks the senior citizen. This had and has reduced the attendance for the senior citizens. This also ought to be taken into account

Again- the tickets rates Say for example the ticket rates at Bangalore per match has escalated to Rs 400 at the maximum and Rs 100=00 as the minimum. This should be at Rs 60=00 at Maximum and Rs 30=00 at the minimum. This will attract the young College goers. Say if you hold 11 matches at Bangalore for the I-League @ Rs 30=00 per ticket the costing would work out to be Rs 330=00 which a Collegiate at Bangalore could afford . He/she will come to see the matches. There are a number of Bengalis and the one’s from the N E Region who love the game like anything. They would definitely converge to the field to watch the matches paying that an affordable amount.

But if you price your ticket at Rs 400=00 per match at the maximum or Rs 100=00 per match at the minimum it works out to be Rs 4,400=00 and Rs 1100=00 which the younger generation studying at the College would not find it easy to go to the stadium to watch the matches at all . It cuts down their expenses. Rs 1100=00 per month is the monthly Bus Pass feee that a Collegiate pays to go and come back to his place for attending his classes at the College and Rs 4,400 = 00 is the total allowance in terms of Boarding( Breakfat.Lunch/Tea/Dinners etc) for a Collegiate staying and completing his studies at Bangalore for a month. Definitely he will avoid going to the stadium to see a match at all if the rates of the tickets are so high

Again-: There are certain School and Colleges which are very good at Sports at Bangalore. An attempt has to be made by the organizer to visit these school and Colleges to attract the students to come to the stadium to watch the matches at Bangalore and some discount maybe offered to them on the season ticket as discount/Concession to the School and Colleges and their students to come to the stadium and watch the matches . This is very necessary for the organisers to think about and think of bringing a paradigm change through the school going kids/boys/girls and the Collegiates to the football stadium to see and watch a football game between two good quality team of I-League at Bangalore and if successful the entire scenario would change . I ASSURE - TRY IT & SEE IT. Nobody now will like to pay Rs 4,00 =00 per match and Rs 100=00 per match for a period of 90 minutes to see the third rated standard of football in the I-League matches here at Bangalore if the rates of the tickets are so high

One of the reason why the attendance at Bangalore watching the football matches had fallen and shirked is because of the fact that the rates after the B F C team and Mr Parth Jindal has come in the scenario , is that the rates of the tickets are high and over it you have to get those tickets online . A Poor man who has never operated the computers and whose son or the daughter cannot afford the computer but willing to see the matches- HOW WILL THEY GET THE TICKETS ONLINE

This is a BRAIN PLAY of that IDIOT we call it Parth Jindal . To get a ticket online you will have to pay through the Masters card or A Visa Card, where will a poor man who wants his son to watch a football match get the cards as I have mentioned. If you wish to avail these cards you will have to maintain a balance of Rs 10,000=00 in the bank

I HAVE HEARD A POOR MAN SAYING- I HAVE NEVER EARNED RS 10,000 =00 THOUSAND A MONTH IN MY ENTIRE LIFE HOW DO I MAINTAIN THAT MONEY IN THE BANK TO OBTAIN A VISA CARD . My son is a BUDDING footballer and I wanted him to watch Ranty Martin in action when East Bengal visited here way back when Ranty was spending his first season with East Bengal My son is a striker. He wanted to see and learn from Ranty the CLEVERNESS of a striker in the box before scoring I also do not have TV set in my house as I cannot afford With these kind of ticket rates- now I cannot even afford to take him to the stadium to watch the matches. WHY ONLINE TICKET. Why can’t we have the daily tickets also WHAT IS WRONG WITH IT

What I have noticed is ever since these MERCENARIES have come to the game- they have aimed, RPT AIMED at escalating the business for the business houses and the financial houses without even thinking anything about the poor but the budding and promising generation . This is going to KILL every aspect of the game and its interest that governs and builds the game

Football is a POOR MAN’S GAME and NOT the LUXURY of the RICH . It has thrown GEMS like Pele, Maradona, Messi, Neymar who came to the game from the SCRAPS and not from the ELITE and football has turned them into a SHINING STARS making themselves the RICHES by the exploits of the game that is the game of FOOTBALL.

BETTER Mr PARTH JINDAL LEARNS AND ACCEPTS IT

PARADIGM FOR CHANGING THE FACE OF INDIAN FOOTBALL....

God changes caterpillars into butterflies , sand into pearls , and coal into Diamonds . Using time and pressure, He's working on you too.

These are the LINES which was FIRST told to me when I was at Jagdalpur by a Maulvi but I had forgotten these lines . Today a very close associate and a friend of mine posted a greeting card which depicted these lines

Todays write up on I-League will be based on these facts and the lines . I shall fairly concentrate on-:

1). Broadening the base for I-League with the new product concept

2). Sharing process of the resources between the AIFF and the club

3). Importance of having a quality football club to play in the I-League and its importance

There is an ADAGE in the Marketing now and it reads as such-:

There was a time when the people needed the product to survive. This is the time when the PRODUCT needs the people to survive.With the influx of an open market all over the world similar product of one particular segment catering to the size of the people have come and have flooded the market You have a variety of choice to choose from and it depends upon the size of your pocket to go in for the buy or purchase

This has completely revolutionized the market and the market is consumer and customer oriented . The customer rules and market and it's principles are the same principle on any game , and it is the spectators who are consumer and customer who choose what game to see. There use to be a time when you just would hold a tourney of anything and the people in numbers would flock to the stadium to watch the proceeding. Now with the TV and various channels putting in their nose and poking into the stadium to make the moment live, the attraction has gone out . Over the the faulty pricing policy of the tickets etc also has dented into the public to avoid going into the stadium. They prefer to watch the matches alive . Watching a match sitting at the stadium especially a football match and seeing that live on the TV screen are two different fun altogether . It is like you wife has packed your lunch box which you have to sit at the office canteen to eat it and sitting at your home with your wife serving you the food to enjoy it . Watching a football match is as good as recreation and recreation without amusement is a palate without salt properly added to it.

Within the change of time the spectrum and the dyanamic has changed. The younger generation has to be connected to the game. They have to be brought to the game by applying the principles of marketing School and colleges ought to be fixed for the same Everywhere you have some schools which are only famous for sports and they prefer to build their name by sports only . Again everywhere they are colleges who prefer to build their name by sports only Also there are certain schools and Colleges which prefer to have an equal representation of sports as well as studies . The Jain Institution here at Bangalore is one example

These schools and college ought to be earmarked by the AIFF holding the I-League and have to be approached . They have to assemble the students under one roof and they have to speak all about their intentions to visit the schools and the Colleges . They then have to ask the students to come to the football field to watch these games. A provision like if the seasonal ticket for watching 11 games say is worth Rs 660=00 discount would be given for Rs 100=00 per ticket per student if the College/ school sends atleast say 500 student to watch these 11 games . The students would give their name to the Principal of the College through the proper channel, and the tickets would be given to those students of the respective school/Colleges. This will bring a good attendance to the stadium and it will be a good attempt to associate the students with the games. Who knows that some may take on football as their career and you might get a Mohammed Habib or a Shyam Thapa out of it. Habib and Shyam Thapa while in school at Hyderabad and Dehradoon saw the Old City Boys’ College and the Gorkha Brigade playing while they were in the school and took on football and Shyam was hardly 15 years of age in 1966 when he made it to the Indian team and Habib was hardly 16 when he won the FIRST Kolkatta League with East Bengal.

Enclosure separately at the stadium for the schools, enclosure separately at the stadiums for the Senior Citizens and enclosure separately at the stadium for the dignitaries are a must for the organisers to attach the spectators to the game How can you expect a Ahmed Khan to watch the game in a open space with anybody else. I had seen Ahmed Khan regularly coming to the ground to watch East Bengal play between the period of 1995 to 1999 at the K S F A S (Karnataka State Football Association Stadium ) at Bangalore. However I could not see him regularly from 2000 onwards When I enquired about this I came to know that he was finding it very hard to concentrate on the game with the today’s generation at the stadium as they would disturb his concentration by talking on the cell-phone and clicking the selfies and doing everything that was not to his likings. Even today the retired persons and the senior citizen wish to come to the stadium to enjoy their favourite team playing but the behaviour of the present generation and the kind of languages they use when their favourite team is on the blink when the matches are on, these people/souls find it very hard to adjust. Moreover the bursting of crackers at the stadium, firing the deepawali rockets at the stadium etc are something very disturbing to these generation as a result they have stopped coming to the stadium . This is a detrimental to the interest of the game and in as well as for the future the A I F F ought to come up with these pre requisite parameters as well into consideration . Even on an average if you have about 200 senior citizen in a place like Bangalore you should be happy as Bangalore does not have that a kind of football lovers as compared to Siliguri or Kerala say Kozhikode .

THE ORGANISERS & THE AIFF OUGHT TO MOVE TO THE EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION AND THAT IS THE FIRST STEP OF INNOVATIVE MARKETING THAT OUGHT TO BE IMMEDIATELY IMPLEMENTED BY THE AIFF.

Move and see the result. I can say with BET move onto Sait Kesrimal Powal College at Kamptee, Hislop College at Nagpur, S F S College at Nagpur at the Seminary Hills, and G S College of Commerce at Nagpur , move to C C B H S S School at Jabalpur, Saint Aloysius School and College at Jabalpur and G S Commerce College of Jabalpur and see the result YOU WILL BE SURPRISED TO SEE THE AMAZING COLLECTION YOU GET BY DISTRIBUTING THESE KIND OF TICKETS FOR THE I-League matches and the school guys attending to these kind of matches

THE SELECTIONS OF THE VENUES AND THE TIME OF HOLDING THE TOURNAMENT WILL TURN THE EYE OF THE AIFF .

The selection of the venues by the AIFF and the I-League committee was wrong wrong and wrong . They have to rethink and suitably redesign the venues for the away matches especially for the two teams that has qualified for the I-League proper and are from the same place . There is NO NEED to hold every home match for East Bengal or Mohun Bagan at Kolkatta or at Bengal . Say when an institutional team say Air India or the B S F plays , a away match for the B S F could be held at say Nagpur or Jabalpur or Raipur and see the response of the crowd

THE WORLD HOCKEY SERIES WAS HELD AT RAIPUR ON AN AVERAGE 15,000 SPECTATORS FROM ALL THE NEARBY PLACE WOULD CONVERGE AT THE STADIUM EVERDAY TO WATCH THESE HOCKEY MATCHES HELLO the AIFF and the I-League committee just TRY out and see the MAGIC.

B). 2). Sharing process of the resources between the AIFF and the club

I in my previous write up had explained that the resources amassed by the AIFF for holding the I-League especially should be made in the ratio of 3:2:2:2:1 That is for every Rs 10=00 earned the A I F F should keep with itself Rs 3=00 It should give Rs 2=00 to the foreign team, ie the foreign club that it ought to RPT, OUGHT TO bring to play them in the I-League , it should give Rs 2=00 to the two clubs that is playing each other in the I-League game and Rs 1=00 should go to the reserve Account of the AIFF.

Every expenditure paid by actuals to the club by the AIFF which it does by reimbursing the lodging/boarding/airfares etc and the DA allowance per player per day to each team by reimbursing this amount to the clubs The AIFF will still have enough at its coffer to maintain itself and its expenditure

IT IS MANDATORY TO OPEN A AIFF RESERVE ACCOUNT WITH A BANK, BUT WHY- I SHALL ANSWER

Between the year 2008 to 2010 a SEVERE world wide crisis of the economy falling had occurred. There was CASH- DROUGHT all over the world. The coffer of the WORLD BANK was also empty . It hit everybody and FOOTBALL was no exception . FOR IF THERE WAS AN RESERVE AMOUNT ACCREDITED TO THE BANK BY ANY OF THE WORLD SPORTS BODY THE PAYMENT THEN WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN A CRUX . Every nation holding the sports found it very hard to pay the salaries to the players.

THIS IS A LESSON TO BE LEARNED FOR THE AIFF ATLEAST

Have a RESERVE ACCOUNT in the bank and Re 1=00 amasses from the game every game for every ten rupee that you earn, fix it in the bank This you can use for-:

1). Rewarding the very old footballers

2). Reimbursing the footballers for their very exigency expenditure

3). Some expenses of great and incidental nature

It would be better if the AIFF heeds to this advise and start it with a clean heart .It is not that the AIFF cannot do It is that the AIFF did not have anybody to DO worth doing . A start could be made now and from now and if made the result would be better

It also would be better if the AIFF every year after the I-League is over conducts a ceremony in a good hotel and invites ablest and atleast , three footballers of those Golden years and reward them atleast by Rs 3.00 Lakhs per year per player. This money could come in from the Reserve Fund account Hyderabad Police had won the Rovers Cup for FIVE consecutive year under the coaching of Mr S A Rahim. One of the footballer of that year who was instrumental in helping Mr Rahim to achieve that honor a Muslim is in a very very pitiable shape . He should be the recipient of that amount at least to start with this year

Footballers from East Bengal and Mohun Bagan are NOT the only one to be thought about . There are many who did not play for either of these TWO club team but have contributed very gloriously for football Say for example Mr Adhip Majumdar a Army Officer . He formed the Eastern Command team at Kolkatta and saw to that it played the Kolkatta League . He was also a great footballer for the Army. In 2003 he coached the Army XI and it played the finals against the Subash Bhowmik’s East Bengal team and they had lost the match by 3-0 then in the finals. The service that he gave to the ARMY both as an soldier and as an footballer ought to be recognized and a small amount a small purse of Rs 3.00Lakhs ought to be handed to this GREAT man

THAT IS HOW YOU RECOGNISE AND HONOUR A TRUE SOLDIER WHO WAS A GREAT SOLDIER FIGHTING AND SAVING THE HONOUR OF INDIA AND A TRUE SOLDIER WHO SERVED FOOTBALL TO PUT IT IN THE HIGHEST ECHELON OF THE GAME .This can come from that reserve account holding the reserve amount

WILL THE AIFF NOW BELL THE CAT

3). Importance of having a quality football club to play in the I-League and its importance

THIS IS A NEW CHAPTER, A NEW PARADIGM THAT OUGHT TO BE BROUGHT INTO THE EXISTING SYSTEM OF INDIAN FOTBALL

I’m once again rewriting and reproducing this write up because the AIFF and the INDIAN FOOTBALL very very badly needs the international exposure . The FACT is with the present standard of Indian football NO player worth his name by SALT wishes to come here at India and play with our national team and the players representing the national team

The team that comes are also the some kind of a selected team who bring the players because they wish to play a kind of a game to stretch their muscles and warm ups activity that they wish to do. The example was Romario . In 1990 a P S V Eindhoven team had come to play at India , Mr Bob Robson was the coach. When he was told that the P S V Eindhoven was to play at India he made a list of 18 players whom he wanted to tour and play at India so that the team got the off-season training practice here at India

Hearing that P S V Eindhoven would visit India, Romario straight packed off to Barcelona, from there to Sao Paolo and played SAND/BEACH FOOTBALL for that many a dys as his off season practice. He everyday distributed tonnes and tons of chocolate to the very poor old Brazilian coots and toddlers who would come to the beach to play football with the coconuts . P S V Eindhoven came to India.India was led by Bikas Panji They scoired a 9-1, somewhere a 7-1 kind of a victory and went back Kalusha a player from Zambia was also there with team Kalusha had come flying his own aircraft. Kalusha had even requested Romario that if he wishes to come to India he would fly Romario in his own crafter and take him back but that also did not appease Romario.

Later when a disciplinary committee was held by the P S V Eindhoven and Romario was asked to explain his behaviour to call off himself from the Indian sojourn he explained that – THE KIND OF A GAME THAT I COULD PLAY SLEEPING IN MY BED WOULD BE 1000 TIMES BETTER THAN THE STANDARD OF INDIAN FOOTBALL AND THE KIND OF A PLAYER I OUGHT TO PLAY AGAINST. Instead of horning my skill with the Indians, I felt it better to horne my skill at the Beaches of Brazil playing Beach Football with NAKED LEGS at Sao Paolo with those toddlers and those world, RPR WORLD CHAMPIONS of WORLD BEACH FOOTBALL World Cuppers like Oscar, Sergio who have played World Cup for Brazil in 1982 play Beach Football and playing against them I have done what it was needed to do I would score TWO goals every match for P S V I PROMISE AND I VOW Yes as a penalty deduct whatever amount the club wishes to but distribute that amount to those peasant and poor’s of Brazil who come to the beach to play football to learn football and to earn from football DO IT & MAKE ME HAPPY & DEDUCT WHATEVER YOU WISH TO AS PENALTY

He later added- THE 100 METRE ATHLETICS RACING CHAMP OF INDIA WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO CATCH ME IF I RAN MY RACE WITH THE SPEED WHAT WOULD HAVE THOSE INDIAN DEFENDERS DID IF I RAN GAINST THEM 1-9 , 1-7 IT WAS BETTER THAT I DID NOT VISIT INDIA OR ELSE IT WOULD HAVE BEEN 1 - 15 , 1 - 13 IF I HAD TOURED INDIA WITH THE PSV That was in 1990

In 1994 Romario was the GOLDEN BALL award with 2677 points and the closest rival he had was that Italian Bazzio with 1316 points Romario had eclipsed him by double the points That was ROMARIO and THAT IS HOW HE USE TO SPEAK

Please the AIFF- please try to bring is a under 19 or a under 17 or a selected Sao Paolo here to play the I-League Your players would be exposed to the vagaries of MODERN FOOTBALL As it is you cannot send the Indian teams abroad for a period of say one to two years for exposure on a continuous basis . over it no player worth his name by Salt wishes to come to India. If you get these kind of teams to play here on a continuous basis for three years, and then another team for another three years and then another team for another three years - the Indian football and its FACE would change for ever

Recently the Brazilian Under 17 team had won the BRICS championship beating South Africa by 5-1 in the finals I saw all the matches played there on the TV set Believe me the standard that team displayed here they would beat the Senior Indian team by atleast three goals per match You need not bring teams like P S V Eindhoven. Just bring a Under 17 Brazil team or an under 20 Brazil Team or a Sao Paolo or second Division Boca Junior or a selected team from Buenos Aires or any club team from Uruguay, Paraguay , Peru, Chile , say their under 17 or under 19 or a second XI team and expose them here at India There will be not only a PARADIGM change and a SHIFT of fottball and its standard here there would be a CHANGE in the TEMPO and the FACE of of football here

Indian football badly needs EXPOSURE on a continuous level for atleast 10 years ands if provided the things will change .

PARADIGM FOR CHANGING THE FACE OF INDIAN FOOTBALL....

God changes caterpillars into butterflies , sand into pearls , and coal into Diamonds . Using time and pressure, He's working on you too.

These are the LINES which was FIRST told to me when I was at Jagdalpur by a Maulvi but I had forgotten these lines Today a very close associate and a friend of mine posted a greeting card which depicted these lines

Todays write up on I-League will be based on these facts and the lines . I shall fairly concentrate on-:

1). Broadening the base for I-League with the new product concept

2). Sharing process of the resources between the AIFF and the club

3). Importance of having a quality football club to play in the I-League and its importance

There is an ADAGE in the Marketing now and it reads as such-:

There was a time when the people needed the product to survive. This is the time when the PRODUCT needs the people to survive.With the influx of an open market all over the world similar product of one particular segment catering to the size of the people have come and have flooded the market You have a variety of choice to choose from and it depends upon the size of your pocket to go in for the buy or purchase

This has completely revolutionized the market and the market is consumer and customer oriented . The customer rules and market Apply the same principle on any game , and it is the spectators who are consumer and customer who choose what game to see. There use to be a time when you just would hold a tourney of anything and the people in numbers would flock to the stadium to watch the proceeding. Now with the TV and various channels putting in their nose and poking into the stadium to make the moment live, the attraction has gone out Over the the faulty pricing policy of the tickets etc also has dented into the public to avoid going into the stadium.They prefer to watch the matches alive Watching a match sitting at the stadium especially a football match and seeing that live on the TV screen are two different fun altogether It is like you wife has packed your lunch box which you have to sit at the office canteen to eat it and sitting at your home with your wife serving you the food to enjoy it . Watching a football match is as good as recreation and recreation without amusement is a palate without salt properly added to it.

Within the change of time the spectrum and the dynamic has changed. The younger generation has to be connected to the game. They have to be brought to the game by applying the principles of marketing School and colleges ought to be fixed for the same Everywhere you have some schools which are only famous for sports and they prefer to build their name by sports only Again everywhere they are colleges who prefer to build their name by sports only Altos and also there are certain schools and Colleges which prefer to have an equal representation of sports as well as studies . The Jain Institution here at Bangalore is one example

It is a question that surrounds everybody and it is a question that is on everybody’s MOUTH and the LIPS That is -:

WHY IS THR I-LEAGUE HELD SO LATE AND SO VERY NEAR TO THE TIME WHEN THE SUMMER SETS IN INDIA

The STUDENTS always say that IF THE I-LEAGUE IS HELD FROM THE MONTH OF OCTOBER TO THE MARCH WE WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO MISS TO SEE ALL THE I-LEAGUE MATCHES THAT ARE HELD It is NOT possible to see the I-League matches held during our exam time during the summer

THIS IS A STATEMENT THAT HOLDS TRUE AND FIRM AND IT HAS A LOT OF SUBSSTANCE IN IT IN INDIA TO BELIEVE

Even as a connoisseur of the game- OFTEN I have ASKED myself that- WHY IS THE I-LEAGUE HELD SO VERY VERY LATE HERE AT INDIA The question that readily comes to our mind is WHEN and at WHAT time period the I-League should be held

The BEST time that the I-League should be held is just after the end of September every year October they say - “ COME OCTOBER AFTER SEPTEMBER “ is the BEST time period when this should be held

October 2nd is the date when TWO of its GREAT SOUL of Mother India had taken birth. One was Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi and the other was Lal Bahadur Shastri.Every Year this should be the date to start the I-League The reason is the winter it at its peak then The climate being cold and cool the travelling time from one end to the other will not deter or determine any other opr any players to put in their best because winter is an energy storing session or period in India Also the players best energy is recuperated and recycled back here at India. It is because of the environment and the supply of energetic vegetables and fruits beside the temperature being cool and very modest

There is another reason for that The puja festival also falls during this period and the bonus etc also comes into the pocket of the employee The money that comes also could be pushed toward football by the AIFF if it holds the tourney to start with exactly during this time Just a few matches played and let there be a gap of a few days if the puja festival falls in October This gap of a few days will be enough for every team to gauge themselves where are they and where do they stand after playing say two matches before the puja festival

This break also will give the respective coaches to know exactly how has he prepared the team and whether the players that he has blanked on for his long season planning to attack the other teams during the play are on the right path or not. If not he can plan his action and mend his wards at the right and appropriate time. Just two matches per team before the puja and a professional coach can really know where does he stands and the given break of puja can make him stand on his feet firmly to rectify all the errors that he need to do for his team to stand upright

After the puja till the month of October that ends the teams ought to play the I-League matches and immediately afterward from November 2nd to November say 17th or at the most say November 20th by the last the DURAND CUP should be held and should end The very short duration of the Durand where the I-League again comes to an end for say 15 days will again help the coach to understand actually which direction is the team moving and where does he stand at and for his evaluation of the team

This is necessary The Durand will help the teams playing the I-League in the manner that the Durand would be a knockout giving or serving punch. If you lose a single match you are out The Durand will be ONE match playing chances. Obviously the teams playing here will play fast and constructive as well as positive soccer This will enable the coach to stand as to what is the SOLIDITY of his team and where are the FLUIDITY that ought to be converted into a flowing process of playing a substantial POWER soccer That fast approach also would know him to guage how strong is the team to withstand a long run marathon I-League for the season

DEAR AIFF – MIX THE DURAND & THE I-LEAGUE & SEE THE VARIABLE CHANGE THAT COMES IN INDIAN SOCCER You will be amazed by the result. ABSOLUTELY AMAZED – I SAY AMAZED . The coaches will have to come up with an creative planning to stand the test as the Durand will only give a KNOCK-OUT punch to the coaches if they do not come up with a planning proper for these kind of a MIX where they would have to change their stance from a MARATHON running bent of mind to a fast 100 metres of run Do it and see the result

THIS WILL ALSO REVIEVE THE POPULARITY OF THE DURAND CUP A CUP that is being and that has been awarded to the NATION by the ARMY and then to add a cherry to it a CUP being PRESENTED by the Hon’ble President ought not to be allowed to flow down the drain MIND YOU THE AIFF- the PRESTIGE of the PESIDENT of INDIA ought to be held HIGH and MAINTAINED very HIGH. Change your mind set

Thereafter allow the I-League to flow as usual and finish it on or before March 20th in any case You will have a lot od students along with their parents coming to the stadium to see these matches BELIEVE ME One reason why there is a fall in the attendance of the spectators in the I-League is it is drawn till the end of April or at times even May It becomes very hot during this time to travel and see the matches. Also the climate being to severe and hot spectators do not go to the field to see the matches as the heat saps their energy . Just hold the I-League from October 2nd when the winters starts taking over intensely and slowly but surely to say till the end of March 10th by the most or 20th at the best –THE MOST and see the results for yourself You will be amazed

Also as the exam preparation everywhere starts from the month of February every year there are NO electricity downloading's at most of the places at India Incase at places if you wish to play the matches under floodlight there won’t be any electricity cut off problems as well From April 15th begins the real problem of electricity downloading and chopping off. This also could be a deterrent for holding the matches if the I-League is drawn and extended to the maximum The hot summers also adds to the energy sapping process for the teams and the players as a result everything boils down to fatigue This fatigue also adds to the team and the players dropping their valuable points and the performances that takes a beating

Again the DECAYING and the DECANTING I P L also comes in between. This MADLY takes the interest of the spectators unnaturally to that IDIOTIC game which infact is killing every other game and its interest in India especially their sports Hence to have the spectators attracted to the I-League it is imperative that it starts every year from October 2nd and end by March 10th at the most

The cool climate and the height of winter between October to March 10th every season and every year will take this football to a DIZZY HIEGHT In 1972 when the North Korean team 25th April Youth Club won the D C M Football tourney and in 1978 when Bayerisher Sports Club West Germany then played at the D C M Tourney their team coach and Manager had raised this opinion that if FOOTBALL is played here at India in the cooler and in the winter season the Indian players would be able to produce 50 % better results for them as compared to what they have been producing

This they said after watching East Bengal and the Leaders Club in action and the way the players of these two club then played.

THE AIFF PLEASE WAKE UP TO THE REALITIES EVEN IT IS LATE BY 45 YEARS- BETTER LATE THAN NEVER

This would be continued tomorrow as the article is getting too long. I would continue tomorrow as well and this is for the day . 

 Well , that is it and That sums it all.

Regards and Thanks

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Shyamal Bhattacharjee 

Mr Shyamal Bhattacharjee, the author was born at West Chirimiri Colliery at District Surguja, Chattisgarh on July 6th 1959 He received his early education at Carmel Convent School Bishrampur and later at Christ Church Boys' Higher Secondary School at Jabalpur. He later joined Hislop College at Nagpur and completed his graduation in Science and he also added a degree in    B A thereafter. He joined the HITAVADA, a leading dailies of Central India at Nagpur as a      Sub-Editor ( Sports ) but gave up to complete his MBA in 1984 He thereafter added a Diploma In Export Management. He has authored THREE books namely Notable Quotes and Noble Thought published by Pustak Mahal in 2001 Indian Cricket : Faces That Changed It  published by Manas Publications in 2009 and Essential Of Office Management published by NBCA, Kolkatta  in 2012. He has a experience of about 35 years in Marketing .

Signature Of Shyamal Bhattacharjee 

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