Can India ever become a World Football Champion?
If a country with such minuscule population of 4.1 million can reach to the final of FIFA World Cup 2018 held in Russia, then why can’t a country like India with 1.3 billion population become world football champion? This question must be bothering not only to every Indian football fan but also to those who wish the sporting culture in India to grow to a level from where our country could also compete and win at the international level in almost all major sports. Here, the main question arises is: who to be blamed for such pathetic condition of football in our country? Is it the government, authorities, coaches, players, or people?
Some people may say it is the cricket which is responsible for the less attention other sports get in our country. This argument doesn’t hold any water, because if that were true then England wouldn’t have both a strong Cricketing and a strong Football team. Hence, first and foremost, we should stop blaming the cricket for the condition of other sports, and should try to figure out as to what could be the possible solutions to bring other sports at per with cricket in terms of popularity and quality.
With the kind of enthusiasm many people in India have shown towards football in this year’s FIFA World Cup, it’s pretty evident that people know as to what place Football holds in the world. I could see some of my friends update their What’s App statuses celebrating the victory of the team they were supporting. In fact, many people enjoyed watching soccer on the TV. Yet the number of people I am talking about here is way less in proportion to the Indian population. Many people aren’t even thoroughly aware of the rules of the football. They can hardly count the names of the footballers except for a handful of widely popular ones such as Ronaldo, Messi, Neymar etc.
People’s interest can be drawn to football the strategic marketing the Government and concerned authorities which are responsible for nurturing the football in the country. But, this step alone can’t yield any concrete results, as even if people are made to draw toward the football through media and advertisement, they wouldn’t be able to connect while watching the game unless until they see their own country’s people play and win the games. Hence, this problem has to be tackled from the grassroots level.
Majority of the parents still don’t encourage their children to take up any sport as a career out of their concern for the future of their kids. Sometimes, even if the children may not be interested in academics at all, they are pressurized to study and give up their passion for any specific sport. Their concern is obvious as the only handful of the children actually do something substantial in the sport, rest just fade into oblivion without making any mark. This is one major hinderance of India becoming World Football Champion.
In order to solve this dilemma, the government needs to incentivize the sport providing the job security to those players who excel at a particular level after years of hard work. This may cost a lot to government exchequer, however, the point I want to make here is that the talent in any sport should be given their due dividend and recognition. Let’s say If a football player plays for National Side, what is he supposed to do after the retirement? How come will he sustain himself and his family with such minimum earning unless he takes up some job? So, it’s important to do away this sense of insecurity amongst the players so that they could be incentivized to take up the football and give their best to the game with full focus and dedication.
The All India Football Association (AIFF) the governing body of association football needs to take some drastic steps to spot the budding talent from every nook and corner of the country, and to provide them with the world-class training, nutritious diet, and proper competitive environment. Half yearly camps can be organised in each district of the country for the hunt for the talent. Once they are spotted, later on, they can be honed and carved in a way so they can meet the international standard. In order to materialize such a mammoth task, the association should be provided with the required funds. Then only we can become World Football Champion.
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Currently, I am pursuing B.A(H) Political science from Satyawati College, Delhi University.
I like public speaking, writing and reading in my leisure.
