Indian National Football League: Domination of two states by Dr. Shaji Prabhakaran, India June 18, 2003

India

The National Football League (NFL), which was started in 1996, was the best move by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) in recent years for the promotion of football in India. The NFL was started in India after a strong recommendation from FIFA. FIFA recommended so after the visit of a FIFA delegation to India in 1995 to study various issues related to Indian football.
Considering the length and breadth of India and financial situation of the AIFF, it was a bold step by AIFF to introduce the NFL for the first time in India. NFL started with a bang and the response from all quarters was tremendous. The players were the happiest amongst them all and suddenly there were positive thoughts about Indian football in the media and from football experts of India.
Before the start of the NFL Indian clubs used to participate in different tournaments of short duration, not lasting more than a month. There were more than 10 tournaments in which the major clubs use to take part in the years before the start of the NFL. After the start of the NFL most of the major tournaments are not taking place anymore for various reasons. Clubs very much like to participate in other tournaments but the tight schedule of the NFL, local leagues and few other AIFF fixtures do not permit them to do so and thus quite a lot of popular tournaments have vanished from the Indian football scene.
The best thing that has happened to Indian football as a result of NFL's creation is the increase in players' salary. Just after the end of the first NFL season in April 1997 the salary of players was increased to levels never heard before in Indian football. Suddenly the majority of players could live a decent life playing football in India. Previously only few players from 4 to 5 clubs used to get paid well. At present nearly 15 clubs of the country is engaged in fishing out good players to make their club side competitive but still the top 3 - 4 clubs rule the transfer market due to their bigger budgets. NFL has also helped the clubs to lure sponsors to their side and the 3 - 4 clubs in the country are lucky to get them. Changes are taking place in the big clubs of India but an accelerated improvement in order to catch the best in Asia. Famous clubs of India like Mohan Bagan F. C., East Bengal F. C. etc., are trying their best to come out from their traditional style of working and functioning, and dream of competing in the Asian circuit for the first time. These types of ambitions will help Indian football immensely in more than one way. It is good news for Indian football fans that at last clubs in India are trying their best to change the image of Indian football, something that was not evident before.
At present only 12 clubs qualify to take part in the premier division of NFL. Matches in the premier division are played on an home and away basis, and the NFL season lasts 6 months (November to April). Considering the size of India and its population more clubs should have be in the NFL but the standard of football and players restricts it to 12 clubs only. Above all, limited finances and lack of big sponsorship money is the main reason why the NFL has been limited to 12 teas by the AIFF.
The strange thing about the NFL is that in the coming 2003-2004 season 9 of the 12 teams are from two states of India i.e. Goa (5 clubs) and West Bengal (4 clubs), and the rest come from three different states. Therefore, only 5 states are involved in the NFL and the other 25 states including union territories of the country are not represented in the NFL. This trend only indicates football's placement in India, the current situation is very peculiar for the development of football in India.
When we study in detail this emerging trend in Indian football and the domination of two states we get to the following facts. West Bengal from the beginning, under the British occupation, emerged as a strong football playing state because the British use to get the local people and Indian forces into football. Therefore, West Bengal has a strong tradition of football. West Bengal is a big state but its capital Kolkata (previous name Calcutta) is the most vibrant in football and it is very much the heart of football in India. In other parts of West Bengal club culture hardly exists but players from other parts of the state flow into the big clubs of Kolkata from the beginning. Kolkata always been the powerhouse of Indian football and most of the top clubs originate from this state and it boasts two century old clubs and the oldest in India. Every Indian football player thinks that their playing career is incomplete without playing in a top Kolkota club. West Bengal has a very large number people following football and most of the clubs of Bengal have a strong fan support and have a strong passion towards football and their respective clubs. It is the only state of India where football related riots takes place and that itself signifies the involvement of people.
On the other side Goa's connection with Portugal has always attracted football and the whole of Goa state is full of football enthusiast. Goan football is not as old as Kolkata. Goa has only emerged as a prominent football center in last two decades. Goa has a more modern approach to football development in comparison to Bengal. That's why football in Goa is developing faster than other states and soon Goa will overtake Bengal in every aspect of football in India. Goa has better grass-roots programs compared to any other state of India.
The major reason for these two states' success is because of their domestic league. The domestic leagues of the two states are very competitive and have a good number of active football clubs. It is the only two states where entry fees (gates) are charged regularly for the domestic leagues. Large number of crowd witnesses most of the league matches in the two states. It is only in these two states where one finds die hard football fans attached to a particular club, but Kolkata clubs enjoy more support than Goa clubs in terms of total fans. Clubs of Kolkata: East Bengal, Mohun Bagan and Mohammedan Sporting are the most supported clubs of the country. Kolkata clubs have the added advantage over Goa clubs due to their support base in most parts of India because of their long tradition and establishment. Kolkata clubs have won all the major tournaments, cups, trophies, NFL's, etc., more than all other states of India combined. But Goa is step ahead of Kolkata in terms of professionalism. Goa is the first state in India to introduce a professional league for the local clubs. The introduction of professionalism in Goan football has a positive impact and that may be one of the major reasons that five clubs of Goa are in the premier division of the NFL. Moreover the lifestyle and culture of Goa is an added advantage to football players. Goa is one of the major tourist destinations of India and football is very much a part of the culture of the Goan set-up.
A great number of football 'technical' people live in both Goa and Kolkata. Availability of technical manpower also helps in training and guiding youth to football and therefore local talents always find their way into big clubs of these states. But this never happens in other Indian states. The situation is totally different in other states of the country and thus the majority of the states find it difficult to compete with these dominant two. It is not that the other states cannot make the jump up. The major problem with most of the other states is a lack of a proper organizational structure, local leagues and club culture. It is not that the other states have never seen better football days but there are lot of states where football was very popular and produced a high number of international players but slowly, slowly these pockets vanished somewhere. Take the example of Hyderabad, capital of the state of Andhra Pradesh, which has produced more than dozen international football players but at present a non-entity in terms of football. Some of the best Indian coaches ever produced have come from this princely city but at present football has no place and hardly any clubs to match even the standard of 2nd division of the NFL. Similarly Kerala, Karnataka, Panjab, Maharastra etc., states are playing a very low key role in Indian football.
India's seven north-eastern states have a lot of gifted football players and the current star of Indian football Baichung Bhutia comes from one of those states. Most of the top Indian clubs have players from these states but these states have time and time again failed to produce a club, minimum infrastructure and effective organistation to do justice to its abundant talents. The majority of the people of these states are football fans something that is not reflected in other states. This situation is a big advantage for football development in these seven states. But there are no signs of a changing situation as of now and football continues to suffer in these states.
In order to bring the clubs of other states into premier division of NFL, the AIFF must overhaul its 2nd division NFL at soon as possible. If the 2nd division of the NFL can be played on a regional basis with in a home and away format then the local clubs will find the league more interesting and competitive. At present the NFL 2nd division is indeed being on a regional basis but it is played in a single venue, lasting a few short weeks. The NFL 2nd division should be played alongside the premier division and it should also last at least for 6 months. AIFF's financial problems is the reason for conducting the 2nd division in the current format but it must try to find sponsors for the 2nd division as soon it can. If the AIFF can ensure live telecasts of Premier division matches and improves its marketing then sponsors will queue up for AIFF events and the coffers will be full and all football development programs can have their go ahead.
AIFF at the same time must start a 3rd division league too, considering the vastness of the country and number of registered clubs, India should have at least 5 divisions including an under-19 NFL. AIFF must put its foot down and force state football associations to organize under-12 to under - 18 leagues at every district. Starting of under-12 to under-18 leagues by the state football association will ensure mass participation. Involvement of more players and teams in the league will popularize the game in every corner of the country. Moreover, more and more talented players will be seen in action and there will be every chance that in the coming years India will find excellent 11 players to compete among the best in the world.
Lots of positive changes are taking place in Indian football in last few months and if the trend continues then an Indian team might be seen in action at the 2010 World Cup taking place in the African continent. But at the same time all out efforts must be made in every quarter to see football in India is popular in every corner of the country and not in just a few states. If India continues its various developmental programs with vision and commitment then nothing can stop Indian football from reaching the level of world football.

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