The best way to popularise a sport in conducive environment is to host an international event. It makes for a win-win situation. And, when world football’s governing body, FIFA, decided to give hosting rights of the 2017 Under-17 football World Cup to India, the decision was seen as an amalgamation of popular opinion and good business sense.
And, for a country whose viewership of the English Premier league and the Spanish lA lIGA runs into millions, it was something that could have been seen coming and also the need of the hour. So, come 2017, fans across the country will have their share of the beautiful game. They say soccer is a game of the young and ours is a country of the young. What better than to watch the under-17s at their elementary best in front of an enthusiastic crowdIJ
So no prize for guessing what the reactions have been since the announcement was made on Thursday. “It is definitely the start of a new era in Indian football. I think they (sponsors) will come in. I think it’s massive. I don’t think about the reason (why FIFA has awarded the tournament to India). It’s a huge thing. I am not focussing how much they (U-17 team) are going to achieve. I am happy that we got it. I just want the best kids of the country to be chosen. It’s the first tournament of this scale to happen in the country,” an ecstatic Indian captain Sunil Chhetri said on Saturday while reacting to the decisions.
The legendary Bhaichung Bhutia has been India’s best bet in the game and has been toiling for years to put Indian football on the world map. And now that a big footballing tournament in the country is not very far away, he sees it as the perfect opportunity for India to develop a team.
“By virtue of being the host country, India will take part in the tournament for the first time in its history. Now the work gets even more difficult. Hope all the concerned people, the state associations, clubs focus on grassroots development and youth development programme. We will have to ensure that as host we are able to field a good team that can compete with the best in the world,” he said with that word of caution.
“This is the biggest thing to have happened to Indian football. We will be hosting a direct FIFA tournament for the first time. It’s a big achievement and I thank the president of AIFF, the football federation and the government of India,” Bhutia added. The man who many believe made this possible, All India Football Federation president Praful Patel, believes it’s the right thing to have happened to the sport in the country and he is thankful to FIFA for its support.
“This is historic. This is what we have been waiting for. FIFA has been extremely supportive of our ambitions and taking Indian football to world level. Hosting a tournament of such a stature will help galvanise the face of Indian football among the masses and youth of the country,” Patel said during the event when India were officially given the rights to host the event. Indian goalkepeer Subrata Paul echoed the emotion that it was the biggest thing to have happened to the sport in the country. Optimistically, he believes that it is the beginning and that the culmination could be in the form of the World Cup in the near future.
“This is the biggest thing to happen to Indian football. We never ever thought that India would host a World Cup. It’s like a dream come true for us. We’re getting it all started with U-17 World Cup, hopefully we would one day get to host the World Cup. After all, this is the beginning,” he said. Another Indian team member, midfielder Mehtab Hossain is of the opinion that hosting the tournament would lead to big improvement in football infrastructure in the country. “I’m over the moon to hear the news. It’s a great feeling. Indian football will reach new heights. The real standard of football will develop through this. I’m sure many more world class venues would come up,” he said.
The feeling that this could be the beginning of something huge for the sport in the country is common to the players and officials related with it. The world’s most popular game can do justice to the huge appetite for sports in our country and in return they can have the undying love of the fans to go with a huge market potential.
It’s economics of sports at its best because FIFA knows that even if it can capture the imagination of one per cent of India, it would be more than some of the European countries that play the sport.