CALCUTTA: There is no mistaking the ‘sense of urgency in the All India Football Federation (AIFF) as it has gone about the task of pushing through reforms to help ‘spruce up a game that, in the cynics opinion has Jong since crossed the point of no return, The series of moves initiated by the AIFF administration headed by the Union Minister of State for Commerce, Mr. Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi as President and Mr. P,P, Laksbmanan as Secretary, has, in the very least succeeded in focusing attention ‘on the ills that have afflicted the game for so Jong often assuming epidemic proportions.
‘That the zealous reformists in the AIFF sere in a hurry to bring about change was clear when # special general meeting of the federation was convened at Bangalore 1 see the reforms through. Almost all the changes had been recommended by the Working Group formed by the AIFF and headed by the former international, Chuni Goswami. Once the Working Group submitted its report, it was time for action and any delay in decision making would have
proved costly.
And, to be sure, there were indeed several progressive recommendations made by the Working Group, among them the need for preparation of an annual football calendar the need to restructure the Santosh Trophy national championship and the Federation Cup tournament to add life to them and the need for an offseason. There ‘were several others 100,
Nobody could have been in any doubt about the intentions of either the Working Group, which completed its work in a short lime, or the AIFF which went on to provide sanctity to the recommendations by accepting them, But the point is this: was the AIFF under any sort of contract to accept in to the suggestions put forward by the Working Group?
Of all the moves, the one that has come up against an avalanche of criticism relates 0 age restriction for players in the Santosh ‘Trophy championship, Even if this I so be ‘a mere experiment there seems to be very little chance that it would prove successful
Obviously, the inspiration had been FIFA’s decision to restrict the Olympic football tournament to players under 23. But the objectives are vastly different and the AIFF’s decision not to allow players over 23 to take part in the premier domestic championship is a retrograde step,
There are several reasons for this. Already host units are finding it impossible to break even, leave alone make profits from the Santosh Trophy championship. Nothing in Indian football is more alarming than the fall in attendances over the last 10 years, In the event the Santosh Trophy will become another junior national champion~ ship devoid of glamour if the players over 23 are not allowed to play. Whatever little crowd support there is now, at least in the States where the game is still popular, will be lost and the nation’s premier championship will be stripped of its dignity.
The age restriction is bound to be all the more disastrous in a country like India where sportsmen mature very late. In European football, a player can be expected to perform at a peak by mid-20’s or even early 20s. But most Indian footballers hit a career peak only in their late 20s and early 30s. As the Santosh Trophy is restricted to players under 23 the best footballers of the country cannot even play in their national championship.
If the objective of the AIFF is to provide greater exposure to the younger players then there are any number of ways it can be achieved. For one thing, the AIFF could have sent a youthful second string side to the President’s Cup tournament held in Dhaka recently, where a hastily put together senior side fared miserably, The AIFF can also think in terms of providing a touch of glamour to the existing junior national,
About the only thing the age restriction move has achieved is to enable the “stars” of Indian soccer to remain free during the Santosh Trophy and be available for their clubs, Maybe that is all the AIFF wanted to achieve, Maybe not
Maybe it is just one of these well-intentioned but ill designed moves.
Article extracted from this publication >> July 14, 1989
