Where do the children play?

U-17 World Cup reveals failings of Indian football

Expectedly, the Indian Under-17 football team produced many moments of agony for fans. Unexpectedly, it also produced some moments of agreeable surprise. A good part of the appreciation would have been reserved for the gallant aggression and solid footballing skills that the tournament’s biggest underdogs displayed on their way to an entirely anticipated first-round knockout. It is fair to say that, though expectations were low, India’s boys acquitted themselves creditably. It was clear that they were not short on ability. If anything, the team's weaknesses were a reflection of the country’s endemically inept footballing administration. 

Having won automatic qualification because India won the hosting rights for the tournament in December 2013, the football association does not seem to have used the four years judiciously to nurture talent. Instead, the team had, in effect, about nine months for intensive preparation, after one coach was sacked (tensions between national coaches and the All India Football Federation or AIFF remain a standard feature). Rookie mistakes — conceding a goal soon after scoring one, wasting too many chances in the box and so on — can be put down to lack of experience. The principal disadvantage was the physical conditioning. Most of the rival team players towered over their Indian counterparts and were manifestly stronger and fitter. This lack of stamina was well in evidence in each match when the Indian boys put up a vigorous defence to thwart their opponents for most of the first half, before succumbing late in the first half or the second half — the last group match against Ghana being a case in point.

Still, the Indian colts played a game far closer to the 21st century standards that we see in Europe, South America and, increasingly, Africa, than the senior men’s team exhibits in almost any given match (the latter’s 4-1 victory in an Asian Cup qualifier against Macau, 75 ranks below it at 182, is scarcely cause for celebration). The fact that the sole goal that Jeakson Singh Thounaojam scored in the Under-17 match against Colombia was a first by an Indian in a FIFA tournament across all age groups says much about the state of Indian football, notwithstanding the two Asian Games medals won over half a century ago. 

The colts’ tragedy is that despite their ability and fierce commitment, they have little to look forward to. A fair number of youngsters in opposing sides have signed contracts with leading clubs and many are knocking on the doors of their senior teams — that is, they have a future to look forward to as professional footballers. Sadly, this is not the case for India's youngsters. Unlike in cricket, hockey and badminton, the glamorous Indian Super League has done little to develop or widen the market for footballing talent. This is partly on account of ISL's unique stature as a free-standing entity, FIFA-recognised but outside the superstructure of the Asian tournaments. Thus, cash-rich ISL attracts the best senior footballers around but plays a negligible role in nurturing talent at the grassroots via the youth system. 

Since this has been pointed out several times, the AIFF has occasionally bestirred itself to consider the possibility of making ISL the apex tournament within a graded domestic league structure in which clubs would be promoted and relegated — the kind of structure that exists in any self-respecting footballing nation. But for that to transpire, the ISL will have to jettison the money-making element that is its raison d’etre — most smaller club owners cannot afford its steep entrance fees. Unless the AIFF makes a concerted effort to change its preference for pelf, Indian football will remain stuck in its under-performing groove.