Scene 1:
Year:
2006
Venue:
Nehru Stadium, Guwahati
Occasion:
Semi-Final of Bordoloi Trophy
Match:
Oil India Limited (OIL) vs Assam State Electricity Board (ASEB)
Audience: Hardly 500
That
was the first time I watched a football match live in a stadium, that too under
flood lights. But even though the match was exciting, the attendance was
disappointing.
Scene 2:
Year:
2014
Venue:
Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium, Guwahati
Occasion:
League Match of Indian Super League (ISL)
Match:
North East United FC (NEUFC) vs Atletico de Kolkata (ATK)
Audience: Above 30,000
This
time the atmosphere at the stadium was electrifying, the match was brilliant,
the support for the home team was overwhelming and whatever the outcome of the
match, it was Football that emerged as the final winner.
The
ISL has arrived with its catchy motto: Let’s
Football
And
while it has rejuvenated the spirit of Indian football, it has also brought
into forefront the football skills of the region known collectively as the Northeast
India.
Since
the time of announcement of the name of the team as North East United FC (NEUFC), the craze among the people of the
region seems to have picked up. The craziness and enthusiasm was visible in the
form of full capacity crowds at the stadium in all the home matches of the
NEUFC.
 |
| Ongoing Match: NEUFC vs ATK |
While
it was known that the Northeast has enough talent, there was no such visible
platform to showcase this talent at the national and international stage. The
Shillong Lajong club has impressed the football fraternity at the I-League but
still there was something still missing to give fillip to the football
atmosphere in the region. The ISL finally gave the Northeast the right platform
and the right atmosphere. The local players of NEUFC were able to impress the
football fraternity with their skills. The young local lads, like Durga Boro, Alen
Deory, Robin Gurung, Aiborlang
Khongjee, Jibon Singh, Boithang Haokip, Seminlen Doungel, have shown that they
have the requisite skill sets to match their foreign counterparts.
 |
| Match about to begin at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium, Guwahati |
Northeast India never had the dearth of quality
football players. Talimeran Ao was the captain of the Indian national football
team in the 1948 London Olympics. Baichung Bhutia, perhaps the most popular
footballer from this region, captained the Indian team and is India's most
capped football player. The current Indian national football team has six
players from the Northeast. Approximately 70 percent of the players of India’s
Under-14 and Under-16 team are from this region. The Mizoram state team has won
their maiden Santosh Trophy in 2014. This exhibits the talent this region has
in terms of football.
The best thing about ISL was that the local players
were able to play alongside top players of world football. In case of NEUFC,
the local lads surely improved their skills while playing and training with
international players like Joan Capdevila and Koke. Under the eyes of their
coach, Ricki Herbert, who was a former New Zealand
footballer as well as former head coach of the New Zealand national team, the
players surely developed as the tournament progressed.
NEUFC may not have performed as per expectations of
its supporters at home but it surely has developed its game and in the
subsequent seasons we would surely see better football and better results from
the team.
The
first season of ISL has ended and we have got the first champion of the League
in the form of Atletico de Kolkata (ATK). This league has finally been able to
provide a platform for Indian football which has taken this sport to more than
400 million homes throughout the country.
But
the journey for Indian football has just begun. We are yet to qualify for a
World Cup. There is plenty of talent here but there is lots of work to be done
at the Grassroots Level. The FIFA Under-17 World Cup will be held in India this
time and some of the matches will be played in Guwahati as well. There is need
for Football Academies, Football Schools of excellence, etc in the region. Schools
may tie up with Football Academies so that the students can pursue the passion
for the game as well as excel in their education.
We,
in Northeast India, have immense talent but talent alone cannot win everything.
Systematic training, proper facilities, skill development and education for the players are very much
necessary to bring out the proper sportsperson amongst them.
With
high hopes that Indian Football reach newer heights, I once again reiterate: C'mon India, Let's Football!
