This refers to the editorial, “Football comes to India” (October 6). With 24 nations vying for the pinnacle spot in the first soccer World Cup to be held in India, the country is in for some scintillating football that will leave the fans dazzled. However, it is high time people stop comparing the game of football in India with cricket. As the richest sporting body in the country, the Board of Control for Cricket in India has been instrumental in the development of cricket at all levels. With timely innovations to the game, cricket as the gentleman’s game, has been fulfilling spectator expectations when it comes to the entertainment quotient.
On the other hand, as India’s second most popular sport after cricket, football, has had its share of disappointments. In spite of having flashes of brilliance from a few ‘prodigies’ over the years, football in India is still considered to be in the nascent stage. Furthermore, the All India Football Federation, with its style of functioning, has been a poor precursor of the game. Plagued by nepotism and other ills that afflict sporting bodies has spelt doom for football. Couple this with the lack of sponsorship and infrastructure, and the circle is complete. Despite the fact that club-football has proved to be the cradle of the game in the country with stars being churned out with every edition of the league-games in force over the years, when it comes to national outings, the below-par performance of the selected players has always been worrisome. let us hope the FIFA U-17 World Cup heralds a new era of football in the country!