By Armstrong Vaz
ASIAN FOOTBALL has set itself on a road towards professionalism and one step in that direction has been the revamping of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League next year. India features among one of the eleven countries who will be eligible to field their teams in the new AFC Champions League next year, a list which have been cleared by the AFC Pro-League Ad-Hoc Committee Executive Committee, the first list which was released in May this year.
Japan, Korea Republic, Australia, China, Indonesia, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, United Arab emirates (UAE), Iran and India have been confirmed as participants, after a thorough assessment of their eligibility in the 2009 AFC Champions League as of now. But the list of countries eligible to send teams will increase as other countries who have not been able to meet the criteria will do in the coming months before the October 1 deadline.
Chairman of the committee, Captain Saburo Kawabuchi said : "The recommendations of this committee are based on inspections and long, fruitful discussions and our goal is to create an attractive competition which will take Asian football to new heights."
The AFC Pro-League Ad-Hoc Committee employed four grades ‘A’ (meet all criteria), ‘B’ (assured to meet criteria by October 1, 2008), ‘C’ (not assured to meet criteria by October 1, 2008) and ‘D’ (do not meet the criteria) to assess the suitability of 21 Member Associations for next year’s AFC Champions League.
Only Japan met all the criteria and bagged a straight ‘A’ in all the fields. Ten Member Associations were rated as ‘B’, which means the committee is confident of them meeting the criteria by October 1, 2008. Six Member Associations received a ‘C’, which makes them doubtful of meeting the deadline, while four Member Associations were rated ‘D’.
But former players based outside India are skeptical of the advent of professionalism in Indian football, which the Asian football wants to introduce in a gradual manner till the 2011 deadline.
Gasper Crasto, a former footballer from Goa now based in Kuwait said; "I’ve been keenly following the Indian I-League. Not to hide my emotions, I am deeply hurt at the position of my favourite team Salgaocars in the League (they were relegated to second division). I feel that clubs with big budget rule the league – worldwide. And Salgaocars have suffered due to this. But is it really worth to invest big money into the Indian League?" he questioned.
And he set out a list of questions, for which he is seeking answers.
What has the All India Football Federation (AIFF) achieved with the Professional I-League?
What has been the difference of the professional league from the semi-professional league (National League Football) of the previous years?
What has the AIFF inducted into the league to make it professional?
What has been the effect of live telecast of matches in terms of spectator turn-out at the venues and people watching at home?
What have the clubs achieved from the professional league?
Professional clubs usually have their own stadiums. Do our clubs have that? Can they dream of that?
How much marketing have the clubs done in terms of membership, ticket sales and endorsements?
Domestic leagues the world over are a source of grand entertainment. Week in, week out, enthusiasts populate stadiums to watch the action they provide. Has the I-League drawn that attention?
What league in the world can we compare the I-League to?
What have our Indian players gained from the league?
As we have been watching, the foreign recruits have dominated in the league. What effect have the foreign players have on our players?
Can the second division clubs afford to climb on to the I-League?
Elsewhere former Mahindra United player Saby Antao said: "What about creating an awareness programme for the people of India, telling them about the bureaucracy of the AIFF? Do you think the clubs are structured properly, the infrastructure, the youth programme, the wasted foreign trips to play third division teams? I personally feel there is nothing that is done correctly to promote the growth of football in the country.
What about having city clubs sponsored by corporations rather than corporate clubs sponsoring themselves? Nowhere in the world do they have corporate clubs except in India. What can be done to change that? What about clubs that do not build the necessary infrastructure? If it is a city club then the city and the state will provide land for the club because the city and the state can make money on the taxes that are collected from the revenue generated by the club. Why don’t the clubs have a scouting department, medical department, marketing and sales department, financial department, coaching department linked?"
Indeed some food for thought!
ASIAN FOOTBALL has set itself on a road towards professionalism and one step in that direction has been the revamping of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League next year. India features among one of the eleven countries who will be eligible to field their teams in the new AFC Champions League next year, a list which have been cleared by the AFC Pro-League Ad-Hoc Committee Executive Committee, the first list which was released in May this year.
Japan, Korea Republic, Australia, China, Indonesia, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, United Arab emirates (UAE), Iran and India have been confirmed as participants, after a thorough assessment of their eligibility in the 2009 AFC Champions League as of now. But the list of countries eligible to send teams will increase as other countries who have not been able to meet the criteria will do in the coming months before the October 1 deadline.
Chairman of the committee, Captain Saburo Kawabuchi said : "The recommendations of this committee are based on inspections and long, fruitful discussions and our goal is to create an attractive competition which will take Asian football to new heights."
The AFC Pro-League Ad-Hoc Committee employed four grades ‘A’ (meet all criteria), ‘B’ (assured to meet criteria by October 1, 2008), ‘C’ (not assured to meet criteria by October 1, 2008) and ‘D’ (do not meet the criteria) to assess the suitability of 21 Member Associations for next year’s AFC Champions League.
Only Japan met all the criteria and bagged a straight ‘A’ in all the fields. Ten Member Associations were rated as ‘B’, which means the committee is confident of them meeting the criteria by October 1, 2008. Six Member Associations received a ‘C’, which makes them doubtful of meeting the deadline, while four Member Associations were rated ‘D’.
But former players based outside India are skeptical of the advent of professionalism in Indian football, which the Asian football wants to introduce in a gradual manner till the 2011 deadline.
Gasper Crasto, a former footballer from Goa now based in Kuwait said; "I’ve been keenly following the Indian I-League. Not to hide my emotions, I am deeply hurt at the position of my favourite team Salgaocars in the League (they were relegated to second division). I feel that clubs with big budget rule the league – worldwide. And Salgaocars have suffered due to this. But is it really worth to invest big money into the Indian League?" he questioned.
And he set out a list of questions, for which he is seeking answers.
What has the All India Football Federation (AIFF) achieved with the Professional I-League?
What has been the difference of the professional league from the semi-professional league (National League Football) of the previous years?
What has the AIFF inducted into the league to make it professional?
What has been the effect of live telecast of matches in terms of spectator turn-out at the venues and people watching at home?
What have the clubs achieved from the professional league?
Professional clubs usually have their own stadiums. Do our clubs have that? Can they dream of that?
How much marketing have the clubs done in terms of membership, ticket sales and endorsements?
Domestic leagues the world over are a source of grand entertainment. Week in, week out, enthusiasts populate stadiums to watch the action they provide. Has the I-League drawn that attention?
What league in the world can we compare the I-League to?
What have our Indian players gained from the league?
As we have been watching, the foreign recruits have dominated in the league. What effect have the foreign players have on our players?
Can the second division clubs afford to climb on to the I-League?
Elsewhere former Mahindra United player Saby Antao said: "What about creating an awareness programme for the people of India, telling them about the bureaucracy of the AIFF? Do you think the clubs are structured properly, the infrastructure, the youth programme, the wasted foreign trips to play third division teams? I personally feel there is nothing that is done correctly to promote the growth of football in the country.
What about having city clubs sponsored by corporations rather than corporate clubs sponsoring themselves? Nowhere in the world do they have corporate clubs except in India. What can be done to change that? What about clubs that do not build the necessary infrastructure? If it is a city club then the city and the state will provide land for the club because the city and the state can make money on the taxes that are collected from the revenue generated by the club. Why don’t the clubs have a scouting department, medical department, marketing and sales department, financial department, coaching department linked?"
Indeed some food for thought!
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