Is the PLS a danger for the I-League?

This is a question that I am being asked my a lot by fans and fellow journalists in recent days and having given the question some thought I feel there is a certain threat potential that the new Premier League Soccer could have for the I-League and its future.

Outside of India, maybe even within India, there is confusion about the status and origin of the PLS. Many think unknowingly that the PLS is the replacement league for the I-League. Due to the comparison with Cricket's Indian Premier League many abroad think that the PLS is the new Indian football league, not knowing that it is a state league in West Bengal.

I have heard that the AIFF has asked the organising Indian Football Association (West Bengal) along with the league promoters Celebrity Management Group (CMG) to add the word Bengal somewhere to the PLS, so it becomes clearer that it isn't an Indian league. A wise request by the national federation to avoid the above mentioned confusion.

Anther point is the intensive national and especially international media coverage. The PLS has had more reports in the media across Europe, North and South America then the I-League (inclusive of the former National Football League) since its inception in late-1996. This is due to the stars the PLS has been able to attract.

Italian Fabio Cannavaro, France's Robert Pires, Argentinian Hernan Crespo, Nigerian Jay Jay Okocha and England's Robbie Fowler have been speaking in their home countries about the PLS and India. This has given India and its football unparalleled media coverage across the world. Networks like CNN and the BBC are reporting about the PLS.

I myself have always said that the I-League needs to take certain progressive steps to draw ageing stars to come to India - overcome infrastructure deficits, lack of finances and the need of the league to develop. The PLS has proven that this is all possible without all this as had been the case with the US, Japan and now China.

The I-League clubs are set to meet the AIFF tomorrow to discuss the future of the league. As one would expect the clubs are very unhappy at the way the league is being run with no revenue streams for the clubs from the national body, then you have the PLS suddenly coming-up which is harming the interest of the I-League though no player is allowed to switch to the PLS.

The AIFF need to be careful in ensuring the I-League has a future, while it can co-exist with the PLS. These are interesting times and one will have to wait and see what happens...

Interview with Anand Krishnan (FidelisWorld), United Sikkim FC

I had the chance to meet and speak at length with Anand Krishnan, the Executive Chairman of FidelisWorld, who are the majority shareholders in United Sikkim FC. FidelisWorld co-owns the club along with football icon Baichung Bhutia and singer Shankar Mahadevan. We speak about the club and their plans with the club for the future.


You have now been involved with Indian football for about a year. How has the journey been for you and your company with Baichung Bhutia, United Sikkim FC and Indian football in general?

We are enjoying it thoroughly! Football is something which is part of my sports fan passion that I have and football is a sport which has only ways to go up in India.

With United Sikkim FC and Baichung the journey thus far has been great. But there have been hiccups with the bureaucracy and it only can get better. We are trying to do our bit to have one of the best clubs from the governance perspective - treat players with total respect, give them their dues, give them the benefits and take care of them; so that they can have a free mind to play the game. We are working towards giving them the necessary comfort within the club and other clubs in India are noticing that.

We look forward to our team getting into the I-League this season!


Thats the big question. How important is it to ensure that USFC have an I-League status next season?

We have done the necessary home work. We brought in a good, new coach (Belgian Philippe de Ridder); have talented youngsters, the team has now trained together for close to a year and that is very important then we nearly made it last year. So the team can only be better with the amount of time spend together.

We are also trying to do a few other things as well. We just not only want to contribute as a football club but are looking at Academies as well and we will be tying-up with an overseas club from Europe very soon to have one of the best Academies in India.


What have been the big positive and negative since your involvement in Indian football?

The biggest positive is that we have seen some development - better foreign players coming, big teams coming to our country. I have never seen these teams in India, they are coming and they also see India as a huge market. And with the volatile economy in the west I do see there is going to be a balancing act. It is now the right time for Indian football to get its act together and try to make it work.

As far as the negative is concerned I think is that we are unable to take advantage of this situation. There got to be some changes made and I do hope that Reliance (IMG-Reliance) take a look at it quickly and get the I-League in order and make the league interesting for the fans. It is a little frustrating as it is taking too much time, but somebody is losing money there...

Could Wenger be the new France coach?

Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger could be a target for the French Football Federation as replacement for Laurant Blanc post the 2012 European Championships in Poland and the Ukraine.

This has been disclosed by the French Journal du Dimanche with infos from FFF insiders who say that French football is not developing under Blanc and they need a seasoned coach to take France internationally forward.

Wenger would surely fulfill the criteria for the job of French national coach and FFF president Noël Le Graët is said to favour Wenger to take over, but there could be competition from Real Madrid who could look for a replacement if Jose Mourinho leaves the Spanish giants and Wenger also has a running contract with Arsenal until 2014.

The 62 year old Arsene Wenger has been the coach of English Premier League side FC Arsenal since September 1996, but this season has been one of the most difficult for the Frenchman since in London. Before coaching Arsenal Wenger had been at Nagoya Grampus Eight (Japan), AS Monaco and AS Nancy-Lorraine back home in France.

VIDEO: Sunil Chhetri/Ranbir Kapoor promote Football

As part of the NDTV Nirmal Liftstyle 'Marks for Sports' campaign Indian international footballer Sunil Chhetri and Bollywood actor Ranbir Kapoor came together earlier today at the SRCC College ground in New Delhi.

It is an effort by NDTV to infuse youngsters with the culture of sports and across the day they have highlighted many different sports. Amongst these was also football with Sunil and Ranbir the duo there to speak about it.

Toal: Two-month long camp awaits the selected U-14 kids

Colm Joseph Toal, the Head Coach of the AIFF Youth Development, is one of the most underrated persons working in Indian football. Since he has come to India over four years back, he has done his job in Indian football youth development quietly. Now with the four Regional Academies soon to be set-up and the AIFF U-14 Football Fest being used to spot talent for these Academies, it marks a new era in Indian football. The AIFF Spoke to Colm about the U-14 Fest, the selection process and the future of Indian football.


There were nine selectors in the AIFF U-14 Football Fest in Kalyani, West Bengal. How many boys have they spotted?

The nine selectors have had a close look at all the boys and we have spotted 75 boys from different state teams who would be a part of a future Coaching-cum-Selection Camp beginning in March.


How long would the Camp last? Would you have a look at more boys in the Camp?

We intend to begin the Camp from the second week of March. The 75 boys chosen from the Fest would be there for three weeks from which 30 boys would be shortlisted. The shortlisted 30 kids would represent India in the AFC U-14 Football Festival scheduled to be held in Kathmandu, Nepal.

The 30 boys would then be joined by a new bunch. The lot would comprise of boys chosen from the Subroto Cup, the U-16 Nationals (boys born in 1998) and the set of boys chosen by Scott O'Donell from Open Trials. The Camp would go on till mid-May from which the batches for the Regional Academies would be finalised.


Are you satisfied with the quality of the boys you have chosen from the AIFF U-14 Football Fest?

The boys are good but are not necessarily the best in the country. The same pertains to the set of boys who were shortlisted from the U-16 National Championship. It's unfortunate the State Associations are not selecting and sending their best teams for such Championships.


Could you elaborate?

I can give you an example. The Meghalaya State Football Association had a three-week Preparatory Camp ahead of the AIFF U-14 Football Fest. They had 18 district teams playing against each other from where they selected the best boys. And it's evident in their play in Kalyani. Had all State Associations addressed it likewise, we could have got the best boys playing here.


Are you happy with the manner the AIFF U-14 Football Fest has been conducted?

Kalyani is a small suburban town and arranging a fest of such a magnitude without any hiccups speaks volumes for the organisers. We shouldn't forget we had 590 boys from 27 State Teams staying, eating, travelling and playing together.

I wish we had more fields of the same quality in other States as the two playing fields at the Kalyani Stadium. The infrastructure here is magnificent!

The Danger of Football Violence

The ugly face of football violence showed itself once more on Wednesday night at Port Said in Egypt following the surprise 3-1 home victory of Al Masry against Al Ahli from Cairo. At least 74 people were killed and over 1,000 people injured with further protests across the country following the happenings in Port Said.

The events in Egypt have a political angle to it, which shows that football or for that matter any sport can be misused for other purposes; but the events also show that fans should not take their rivalry to a violent level. Egypt has a history of such acts, but it is unacceptable in football then it harms the beautiful game.

Now giving this an Indian angle. Tomorrow we have a Kolkata derby between East Bengal Club and Mohun Bagan AC coming-up at the Saltlake Stadium at 2 pm. And undeniably there have been problems in recent Kolkata derbies with floodlight issues, the two fan groups having a go at each other causing serious injuries, abuse being hurled at each other around the ground & on social media, etc.

As said above a healthy rivalry is good to have between football teams, but it needs to remain on a level which is acceptable. Often a fair play is called for on the pitch, but fans should follow it as well in their behaviour with opposition fans or even with their own teams especially after losses.

I myself have seen at recent Kolkata derbies the disturbing behaviour and gestures of rival fan groups. Honestly that isn't acceptable and what these so-called fans forget is that a major disaster could happen any day.

Lets hope things stay fine tomorrow...

I-League: High Voltage Kolkata derby on the cards

Kolkata will see another big derby game tomorrow afternoon when East Bengal Club host Mohun Bagan AC in a Round 19 match of the ongoing I-League 2011/12 at the Saltlake Stadium.

The second derby in the I-League is a match which could decide the fate of the I-League, then both teams are in the running for the title. And that is something which has not been the case for years, either the red-and-gold or the green-and-maroon where in the title race and the other side was midtable or even fighting relegation.

Both clubs have played 18 matches with East Bengal in second position on 40 points, while Mohun Bagan are joint third with Churchill Brothers SC with a point less.

The Mariners did win their home tie 1-0 between the two sides earlier this season, but tomorrow's match will be a home game for East Bengal, who hope to keep the pressure on Dempo SC who currently lead with 40 points.

Ahead of the game East Bengal coach Trevor Morgan said, "There is no additional pressure of this match, the way people are making it out to be. It is another important I-League match with three points at stake. Bagan is playing well and Odafe Okolie is their main man upfront as he has been regularly among the goal scorers. However, we have plans and hope we would stick to them."

Meanwhile Mohun Bagan Technical Director Subrata Bhattacharya said, "Despite having beaten them in the local league and in the first leg of the I-League, we really can't afford to take them lightly, we have to stay focused."

When asked about the inclusion of India international Syed Rahim Nabi, who did not practice with the team, Subrata said, "If he will be fully fit then only he would be playing otherwise many players have the capability to replace him for the match."

As always a Kolkata derby is a game which cannot be planed or one can go per current form. Anything is possible with both sides eyeing a win to stay or move into second position.


The match will show live from 14.00 IST onwards on both TenAction+ and NewsTime Bangla.