SpeakOut: Poor Stadiums Hamper Good Football

Let’s face it: Almost everyone in the world prefers to watch quick, fast paced football. There are different tactics and it depends on the philosophies of the club and coaches as to what they choose to employ. But, at the end of the day, the sport must entertain.

People want to watch quality football and very often switch to the Premier League instead of the local one. A similar trend is seen in South Korea as well. But there’s one major difference between the two countries - world class stadiums.

One of the major complaints of the coaches in India has been poor grounds which don’t allow them to strategize to play the passing football. While at Mahindra United this season, Coach Derrick Pereira had mentioned that the Cooperage Stadium doesn’t help the passing game of his side. Though one may see it as a lame excuse, but the coach certainly has a point. On uneven and hard grounds, it’s difficult to play at your best.

The national team players have been given foreign exposure and when they returned last year from their Portugal trip, many felt that the stadiums abroad helped them play better game.

No wonder the national team, like most clubs in India, resort to the direct style of play with long ball being put forward. A good field does play a very important role in the team’s style of play. You can very often hear from the players that had there been a few good pitches in India, they would have been able to play much better, if not of the European standard. Of course, there is a quality difference between the players as well but poor grounds also play their part.

Even as a viewer, when one switches on the television to watch I-League games, the colour of the grass sometimes is a turn-off. If you see a lush green outfield, even without supporters, you would be hooked onto the game even if one doesn’t know much about who are playing.

Now when the question of who shall come up with world class stadiums comes, you have the Indian FA, state associations and the clubs pointing fingers at each other claiming that the other isn’t functioning as it should. Or the responsibility is put on the government that they aren’t supporting the cause of football.

Internationally, it’s the club who owns the stadium but the lack of any incentive or any business model translates into no major investment. And of whatever stadiums, we do have, some are used for holding political rallies and exhibitions.

What essentially lacks is an able team work which can only be possible in the presence of a diplomatic but visionary leader. No one is ready to take the onus of taking things forward or help create an environment for the same.

It’s understandable that to generate finance for football in India isn’t easy but at the end of the day, the job has to be done. We do empathize with the challenge but as the saying goes, “A person who doesn’t feel the thrill of the challenge is not a potential leader.”

The question is how long are we to wait for things to actualize, if at all there is a plan.

Rahul Bali.