If we come across any middle class person who follows football, we will observe that he is a supporter of Manchester United, Barcelona, Real Madrid or Chelsea. Their favourite players would turn out to be Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo or Neymar. The same group of people, when asked about Indian football, would conclude their knowledge at the name of Sunil Chhetri, the current Indian captain. Most of them would cite poor game quality as the reason for not following the game in India properly. Thus, football in India goes on getting neglected – by spectators, analysts, administration and even budding players. Basically, the Indian football consists of two levels. The Hero I League and the lower, Second Division League. The I League consists of ten teams, whereas the Second Division League consists of twelve teams, across three groups. The I League has sponsors, is broadcasted, promoted across the country and is a paid entry for spectators. But if we take the case of the Second Division League, none of the above stand true. Neither do they have stadiums, nor are the games telecasted, neither is there any promotional activity. The teams barely manage to cope up with the busy schedules, with travelling across the country making it even worse for the players. Most of them aren’t paid handsomely, and are in fact forced to take up other bit part jobs when the season is not in progress. Infrastructure is in shambles, with almost no investors coming due to the lack of return of the capital they pour in. With no sponsors, broadcasting rights, jersey sales or Match Day tickets, there is almost no source of revenue generation for the teams, who invest a lot of money for everything – starting from getting players, to paying their wages, to getting the pitch ready, to the infrastructure and even travelling and accommodation expenses. We spoke to a passionate Mr. Anuj Gupta, owner of Sudeva Moonlight Football Club, regarding the biggest challenges he faces running the club. He said, “Negativity is a problem. Ground is also a problem, we have a ground but we don’t have a stadium.”, emphasizing on the poor quality of the pitch used. Being grass and not turf, the pitches are injurious to players and also hamper the quality of the game. “…otherwise we would like to have our match in a much better ground.”, Mr. Gupta added. Although the odds may seem against the All India Football Federation for the abysmal state of the Second Division League, in reality, they actually have been helping the teams a lot, be it financially, institutionally or even helping them in establishing themselves. Without the support of the AIFF, it would have been practically impossible for the Second Division League to commence. They take care of the league and every game like their own children, and have been highly supportive of the new teams which have come up. Mr. Anuj Gupta says, “AIFF builds the element of trust. Being the middlemen, had they not been there, no teams would have liked to play against each other.” It is pretty disheartening that even after so much efforts being put in by the team owners, players and the AIFF, there is a palpable discord between the football fans and the Second Division I League. Not only it is not being marketed properly, but people are actually not showing genuine interest as well. Had it been connected to the masses, things would have been different.
A passionate Indian football fan, Mr. Rishabh Bhatnagar says, "With the AIFF signing a contract with IMG-Reliance for the marketing of Indian football, it seems that things are slowly going towards the right direction. Being a tie-up between a private entity and a foreign company, their approach towards Indian football has been refreshingly positive." A change will definitely be on the cards, if we take the pledge to spread the message of football in India as widely as possible, to provide support to not only the I League, but also the Second Division League.
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