Indian football is in the news but for all the wrong reasons—it has slipped to 146 place in the FIFA ranking and is 26th in the Asian ranking, sandwiched between Singapore (25th) and Hong Kong (27th). The combined population of these two is less then half of Delhi. Off the field, All India Football Federation (AIFF) was involved in an ugly spat with Coach Bob Houghton, and the Englishman was finally shown the door after bitter legal wrangling. Though the AIFF tried to sugarcoat Houghton’s exit, saying that all the disputes were resolved amicably, everybody knows that coach’s departure was not graceful.
Houghton who till last year could do no wrong, suddenly became a fall guy and stories started appearing in the media that he was systematically destroying the Indian football. However, there are different versions to his story. Some say the Englishman was becoming too big for his boots and was dividing the team into camps. Those players who supported him were included in the national team and others were either excluded or benched.
After Praful Patel took over as AIFF president in November 2009, everybody hoped that he would give the game a new direction, but that didn’t happen and soon he also lost track in the murky functioning of the federation. Instead of thinking and planning for the improvement of the game, the AIFF top brass got bogged down with small matters and wasted precious time in finding excuses to get rid of the coach, who was brought in by Patel’s predecessor PR Dasmunshi.
BHUTIA SHOWS THE WAY, BUT HOW MANY WILL FOLLOW HIM?
Baichung Bhutia has done what others only talk. The captain of national football team has decided to give back to the game which has given him so much fame and adulation. He has gone back to his roots to set up his own team—United Sikkim Football Club (USFC).
By setting up USFC, Bhutia hopes to be the torchbearer of football renaissance in Sikkim and whole of the North-East. It is no exaggeration to say that the handsome striker from Sikkim, also known as the “First Poster Boy of Indian Football”, has with his personal performance contributed a lot to make the game popular .and he could still have played for any top club in the I-League.
He however decided otherwise. He is leading the USFC in the second division national league—often playing as a defender. By doing so, Bhutia has set the example and raised the bar for others. It is very difficult to play in second division league after having hogged limelight as the most visible face of the game in the country.
He has no ego problems. He is thrilled that USFC has in a very short time become a symbol of hope and aspiration of the football-loving youth of the region. “You should see the fans flocking the ground. They are so enthusiastic. It actually makes the effort worthwhile.
“For the time being, friends are contributing a lot but in the long run we need investments. In three to four years, the fan base will grow and hopefully it will help attract the sponsors.
“We have to qualify to play in I-League and we are confident of doing so. If we do that, we will start the sale of our team jerseys,” he was quoted as saying.
The 35-year old versatile striker considers himself lucky to have got support of top players such as Rennedy Singh and NS Manju, who refused I-League offers to be with USFC. Bhutia said, “Their contribution to the club is unfathomable.”
Born in Tinkitam, Sikkim, Bhutia displayed his extraordinary capabilities in the game at a very young age and earned a scholarship from Tashi Namgyal Academy, a wellknown school in Gangtok at the age of nine.
He hit the headlines for the first time in 1992 in the Subroto Cup (Delhi) when he was declared the “Best Player” of the tournament.
He said that he has no intention of retiring from the game in near future. “Right now, I’m yet to reach peak fitness. The injuries have been troubling me for a while. I will wait for some time and see how my body responds. But yes, I haven’t retired as yet. Wearing the National Jersey is something I have always relished and am up to the challenge,” he said.
He was non-committal when asked that now Bob Houghton has resigned, what kind of coach does he intend to see taking charge of the national team saying the momentum needs to be sustained. Indian football is at the threshold of something big. The team did perform well in the last four years. We need to carry on from there.
(HSB)
A charge was slapped on Houghton that he racially abused an Indian referee, Dinesh Nair, in an international friendly match against Yemen last year. The coach vehemently denied the charge, saying he has never been a racist, and to the dismay of the officials, he found support amongst the players. Some of the Indian players even wrote a letter to AIFF president Praful Patel, in which they mentioned that Houghton was annoyed since more time was not added, considering that there were many injury stoppages in the first half of that match, but he had not used any racial remarks against Nair.
This made the matter worse, as AIFF became more determined to remove the coach and before the situation could turn ugly, a sort of settlement was arrived, and the coach resigned. A release from the AIFF said that the racial abuse charges against Houghton have been dropped, in the absence of evidence, while the coach has decided to quit due to personal reasons.
“The AIFF has perused the reply filed by Robert Douglas Houghton to show cause notice dated March 25, 2011, issued to him. It has also conducted internal investigations through an inquiry committee and a report has been submitted to the AIFF,” the AIFF release said. The AIFF did not say anything about the compensation to be given to Houghton, whose contract was till 2013, but it was said that as per the settlement the coach, who was on a monthly salary of $30,000 besides other perks, will get three months compensation by the AIFF. Visibly relieved, AIFF quoted Houghton wishing well for Indian football in future.
The fact was that the Englishman had rubbed the football establishment on the wrong side on several issues, including lack of infrastructure to the vested interest in running the game. He had even called for restructuring the Indian football and wanted, what he called, redundant tournaments such as Santosh Trophy, Durand Cup and IFA Shield to be done away with. His constant criticism of India’s acute lack of infrastructure and professional set-up before international media, during the Asian Cup in Qatar in January proved to be his undoing.
Though AIFF did not like Houghton, he was liked by the people who mattered—the players. One of them goalkeeper Subrata Pal was outspoken in his views: “If Bob Houghton goes, Indian football will suffer a huge setback. Those criticising him are actually demeaning themselves. I am grateful to the AIFF for spending so much to help us prepare for the Asian Cup, but all those who think we should have won it or something, should realise where exactly we stand against them (Australia, Bahrain and South Korea—India’s group opponents). And yes we scored three goals.”
Though AIFF did not react to Pal’s views, it sent show cause notice to another player, national team midfielder NP Pardeep who had supported Houghton, for allegedly abusing the AIFF on a social networking website.
As far as the game is concerned, it (AIFF) has failed to lure in big-time sponsors for the I-league, despite the fact that the TV viewership of football in the country has grown hugely, according to a report by TAM Media Research. “Among non-cricket sports, soccer is at number one in India,” says the report. It states: “There are 83 million football viewers in the country and 55 per cent of them watch domestic leagues.”
That is one reason why game’s world body FIFA is so interested in India, despite the country’s poor standing in the ranking. FIFA has sanctioned 10 artificial turf fields to be installed all over the country as a part of “Win in India with India” programme and for that purpose it sent its consultant Eric Harrison to supervise the installation.
The Indian football, at the moment, is rudderless and lacks direction. The officials are more bothered about their own survival rather than worry about the state of the game and the players. Internal squabbles and petty politicking have affected the game and it shows in the FIFA ranking. India’s best FIFA ranking was 94, which it achieved in February 1996, but after that it has been a free fall and nobody knows where and when it will stop.
By Harpal Singh Bedi
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