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Ground Reality - ISL

Much is expected from the newly formed football league –Indian Super League (ISL) to rejuvenate the sport in India. Co-promoted by IMG-Reliance, Star India, celebrities from sports and Hindi film industry, this venture aims to nurture young talents.

Earlier though, there were rumours that suggested, not all is well between Indian football governing body - All Indian Football Federation (AIFF) and the Indian Super League (ISL), because the owners of I-league clubs were against the idea of loaning out their players to ISL. However, it was put to rest when the new league was officially launched on October 21, by IMG- Reliance, Star sports and the AIFF. 

 ISL, consisting of eight franchises – Mumbai City FC, FC Pune City, Delhi Dynamos, FC Goa, Kerala Blasters FC, NorthEast United FC and Atletico de Kolkata, will play a minimum of 14 matches. The semi-final matches will be played on home and away basis.

ISL franchises have landed number of European stars, which includes four world Cup winners - Joan Capdevilla (Spain 2010), Alessandro Del Piero (Italy 2006), Robert Pires and David Trezeguet (France 1998) and top players like Freddie Ljungberg, Nicolas Anelka and Luis Garcia. Their presence will not just inspire Indian footballers but also help in raising their playing standards.  At the same time, it will attract the attention of Indian football lovers who follow European clubs.

This latest format of sport is bound to have an impact in India, but there are problems that have to be dealt with first.

  • There is still a severe lack of infrastructure and resources, and in order to wake football’s sleeping giant, the organisers need to develop and provide proper training facilities to the players
  • Serious work from the grassroots level is required to improve technical aspects of the game.
  • Multi-purpose stadiums need major refurbishment and proper maintenance is required to keep it that way.
  • There is an absence of football culture in the country. Though, there are followers of the game but it is confined to certain states. Cricket has dominance over all other sporting activities in India. Even in Kolkata where the sports history is rich, cricket is considered as the more viable option.
  • As per Dnaindia.com reports, national coach Wim Koervermans is none too pleased about the prospects of his wards playing under different coaches in the same season and the fatigue factor that will impair the national players who will have to bear additional tournament workload.

 Indian football icon Baichung Bhutia believes the ISL can change the way this sport is viewed in India. If the concerned authorities manage to overcome the above mentioned hurdles, then this country will definitely witness dawn of a new era in this sport. Challenges are there but with effort and determination, it can be overcome. 
  
India, a nation of over a billion people has failed to produce world class footballers for many years now, and the introduction of ISL can change all that. It can accelerate the growth of football here. The league has promised to create a platform to groom football talent in the country. The main mission of this league is to revolutionize football in India, to enthral people by showing them high quality of the sport.  
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