Life after cricket:
What is the most popular sport in India? OK, that’s a no-brainer. Now, will you tell me what will be the most popular sport in this country in another 5 years? It is a little difficult? That’s a no-brainer for Zee-Essel group chairman Subhash Chandra as well, as he’s busy signing international players to million-dollar contracts and believes the passion for the game in the country will help make his new cricket league successful. a great success.
Let’s leave cricket for a while. Now, if you plan a 100 crore project for a sport like the president of Zee did, which one will you bet on? Shakrukh Khan as the hockey coach in his latest hit film Chak From India and the recent Asian Cup victory of the Indian hockey team would have inspired many to name our national sport hockey as the first choice. But is interest in the sport growing in the country? ESPN-Star in association with the Indian Hockey Federation created a professional league, Premier Hockey League (PHL) in 2005 with many innovations to attract the younger generation to the game. However, this had not significantly increased the game’s fan following.
Soccer – Growing interest:
There is a sport that is growing steadily in India; despite the absence of the national team in the main world tournaments is Soccer. Many urban kids closely follow the action of the English Premier League and other major league soccer tournaments in Europe. There is also very good corporate support for our National Football League. Mallya owns Kolkatta’s most popular club, KingFisher East Bengal, Mahindra Group sponsors another major club, Mahindra United, and Zee Television sponsored Goa-based club Churchil Brothers a few years back.
Team India – Positions:
India’s current FIFA ranking is 151. However, a decade ago they had their best ranking at 94. So as interest in football grows in the country, it is sad to note that the team’s performance has declined. It has deteriorated over the years. What is encouraging now is the team’s recent victory against Syria to clinch the Nehru Cup for the first time ever. I hope they continue to perform well in their world cup qualifier against Lebanon next month.
National Football League – What’s Next?
Well, it is true that football has a great following now, but the challenge is to improve the level of play in the country. Children who can distinguish each and every player and their positions in teams like Manchester United or Chelsea very well cannot even name four or five players in the Indian national football team. And not many know about our own NFL championship.
Also, foreign players who play for our clubs are not very popular internationally. Employing the ICL strategy of bringing in big-name retired professionals will do wonders for football, but neither club has the budget to do it. They could at least plan some guest appearances or some exhibition games involving international stars to create more interest in the National Football League.
Who will think big?
Now that Mallya, who sponsors two major football clubs, is busy with his Formula 1 plans after the deal with Spyker, and Zee Sport’s Subhash Chandra, who was on a 10-year contract with the All India Football Federation to broadcast domestic tournaments, it is busy with the inaugural ICL Twenty20 tournament. Will anyone think big to take the game in the country to the next level?
I’m not dreaming of Team India competing equally with Italy or France, but at the very least, will they emerge as a leading team in Asia from their current Asian ranking of 26?
