Indian football coach Stephen Constantine once again lashed out at Indian football administrator for killing the Indian football. He said “Indian football will die” as it is at the “death’s door.”
“My only concern is that if we don’t sort our house out as soon as possible, then after the Under-17 World Cup is done and dusted, we won’t be in the limelight anymore. Since all of the attention will have gone and we will have stadiums and training pitches – will we maintain them? History tells us no – I would like to change that so I’m very optimistic but I’m afraid.”
India recently slumped to 156 in FIFA ranking as they lost to island nation Guam following the hard-fought defeat to Oman in Bangalore. Before the Guam match, India was 33 places above Guam, but after the defeat slipped 10 places below Guam. The defeat shows why Indian football is in shambles. Constantine in an 40 minute long interview with First Post said the reason of India football’s deteriorating situation is not the only reason of malfunctioned “infrastructure and grassroots development,” but also of calendar that contradicts with the rest of the world.
“If we do not change, Indian football will die and that is clear. We are already at death’s door and that is why we are (ranked) 156. So if we do not align our calendar with that of the rest of the world, then what are we doing? What do we expect to do? We can have a hundred youth academies, but they are not in competitive leagues. If they are not competing at the same time as the rest of the world…,” he trails off, more in exasperation than for a loss of words.
The British coach of India said that every country start their league either in August or September while India start in October. As a result, Indian players are not fit for international game in August as there is no pre-season match for Indian clubs. He also drew the example of China, Japan and Iran, who in the last decade did remarkably well.
“FIFA dates for the whole world are the same. We should be looking to start our calendar in August so that players come from pre-season in July and leagues start in mid-August. And so by September, they will have had recovery, pre-season and four to five competitive league matches. That means they’re in tip-top condition for international opponents. Our players start in October. So, in September we’re doing nothing and then we expect to qualify for the World Cup and Asian Cup. This is not logical. China changed, Japan changed, Iran changed, why can’t we?” he talks about a point that he has raised numerous times since taking over six months back.
He also said Indian football stakeholders should sit down at a table and decide what is good for Indian football as two leagues can’t exist in one country. He said Indian football administrators love the game, but do not live in the game.
“We have people who love Indian football and want it to develop but are not willing to listen to those who know football. Loving the game is different to living the game. Do we need the Indian Super League (ISL), I-League? AIFF needs to sit down and think: What do we want? Everyone is saying we want the development of Indian football. So, sit down and listen. It’s not about egos, not about ‘I have this and I have that’. It’s about what’s right for Indian football,” he said.
India is currently preparing at DSK Dream City in Pune – home of the Liverpool International Football Academy and DSK Shivajians football club for a World Cup qualifier against Iran on September 8 in Bangalore.
“In these six months, I have to say that (AIFF President) Praful Patel and (General Secretary) Kushal Das have given me more or less everything that I want. The question is, is it enough? We need to make some difficult decisions and quickly. I keep saying that because if we are same next year, we are in big trouble. We need one league and I am prepared to help in any shape or form, but we need to implement. If we don’t, then I don’t see a future in Indian football.”
But it has also made Constantine’s job harder. ISL teams have already kick-started their pre-season and those in the national camp in Pune currently have not been able to join their paymasters. These players will also miss part of the ISL due to World Cup qualifiers against Turkmenistan on 8 October and Oman on 13 October.
“If you look at our situation at the moment, we have two leagues and while I am not against the ISL, for me it’s the beginning or the start of the leagues which is an issue.”
One league will allow AIFF to market it better, police it better and organise it better. Moreover, the ISL franchises, who are flowing the cash, have made efforts to develop youth system. Still, Constantine feels the foreigners’ quota system in the I-League and their youth development efforts are not enough.
The state of football in Indian state is not up to the mark, many states don’t even play the game. He is candid about his interview. He said in India coaches are controlled by football administration, although he himself admits that AIFF has given him freedom over everything.
“We don’t have football in many states. We don’t have organised football even in states where the game is played. No youth leagues either. In Germany and Spain they went to districts and said U-13, U-15 and U-17 leagues — you will play this system. Why? Because we are paying for it, organising the league and controlling the coaches. Did anybody have a choice? No. But we can’t do it because we don’t control what happens in the states,” Constantine said.
Indian football team in Pune.