India soccer team to tour Portugal

India soccer team will tour Portugal next month and then stage an international tournament. They will play three games in Portugal, including one against a Premier League side, during an 18-day trip to help boost the team ranked 161st in the world.

This will be followed in August by the ONGC Cup in New Delhi, in which Syria, Kyrgyzstan, Bangladesh and Pakistan will join hosts India. Iran have yet to confirm their entry.


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Knowing Delhi Football...

* Delhi Football League started in 1948.

* League could not be finished on 12 occasions.

* New format for the league was formed in 1985.

* There were 12-15 grounds in the vicinity of Delhi Gate from ISBT to ITO. Now only one Dr. Ambedkar Stadium left and that too is nor under the control of DSA.

* Rashtrapati Bhavan had two grounds where matches were held regularly. But due to security reasons it was barred to the public.

* DSA has to pay Rs.2000 per day plus Rs.10,000 security if they charge for tickets during a match and Rs.500 plus security if otherwise.

* Sources of income for DSA – sponsors like Steel Authority of India, ONGC, Cosco India; department entry fee – Rs.1,000; affiliation fee – Rs.500

* DSA has around 80 affiliated teams – 22 departmental teams and 60 clubs which play in three divisions – B, A and Senior.

* DSA has selection coaching camps for nine categories – three for women U-13, U-16, senior and six for men – U-10, U-13, U-16, U-19, u-21, senior.

* Some of the famous Delhi’s player in National Football League (NFL) are : Sunil Chetri (JCT), Prashant Jaggi (HAL), Vinay Singh (Churchill), Sunil Thapar (Air India).

* Recently Delhi CM Sheila Dixit sanctioned Rs 4 crore for the flood lights at Ambedkar Stadium.

* Delhi is part of a pilot project named with Manipur, which was launched with the help of Asian Football Federation and Delhi Soccer Association. The basic aim of the programme is to improve football and bring it to a level where Delhi can really be known as a force to reckon with. Its aim is to take football to every nook and corner of Delhi through different youth programmes starting at the grass-root-level.


Compiled by Harish…
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NFL is set to become I-League

Country’s first Professional Football League to start from September 30, 2007

The National Football League (NFL), India’s premier soccer tournament, is all set to shed its rusty image. The NFL will now be called I-League. The proposed pro league, India’s first, will be inaugurated on September 30 this year and will conclude on March 8, 2008.

According to the proposal, the upcoming league will aim to have an improved quality of football and better stadiums. As per plans, it will have a nationwide format and will be distributed internationally. And importantly be played on weekends and under lights, thus improving fan response, NFL games have often been held under a scorching sun and on busy weekdays.

Talking about the NFL, after its much publicised kick-off in 1996, it lost its stature and appeal within a couple of years.

Haphazard format, irregular schedules, shoddy TV coverage and an unplanned calendar ensured that NFL lost its sheen. But it was waiting to happen as NFL’s semi professional structure gave way because of a hollow base. The idea of a proper pro league was given a fillip by FIFA chief Sepp Blatter when he visited the country last April.

The Structure :

* 10 clubs, go upto 16
* Involving more Metros
* Six floodlit stadiums

The Clubs :

* To be run as per FIFA. AFC professional guidelines
* Professionally run on and off the pitch
* Local marketing drive to create fan base
* Local media drive for daily coverage

Promotion Plans :

* 50 live games in peak time
* Live telecast in Middle East and Hong Kong
* Highlights and goals show
* Live video and audio streaming on dedicated internet site
* Airline highlights
* Mobile phone clips

Getting the cities behind the clubs :

* “I support my I-League Club”
* Giving new metro generations a club to follow
* Building on existing club brands
* Working with schools and colleges
* FIFA experts to help clubs

Going to the Game :

* Improved quality of live stadium experience
* High quality matches presentation
* New designer kits for teams and officials
* Regular times to build continuity
* Season ticket packages.
* Family ticket packages

I-League merchandising :

* Replica shirts for all ages
* Other casual wear with club branding
* Club mascot packages
* Car accessories

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Indian Soccer Team

Indian Team Probables:

Goalkeepers: Arindam Bhattacharya, Sandip Nandy, Subhashish Roy Chaudhuri and Subrata Paul

Defenders: Surkumar Singh, Mahesh Gawli, Deepak Mondal, Syed Rahim Nabi, Samir Naik, Sanjiv Maria, N.S.Manju and Debabrata Roy

Mid-fielders: K. Ajayan, Climax Lawrence, N.P. Pradeep, Clifford Miranda, Steven Dias, Mehrajuddin Wadoo, Rennedy Singh, Bungo Singh and Gourmangi Singh

Forwards: Bhaichung Bhutia, Sunil Chetri, Abhishek Yadav, Manjit Singh, Tarif Ahmed and Anthony Perreira

Ray of Hope !!!

The taking over of one of the prominent football clubs in the capital city, New Delhi Heroes, by art auction house Osian's and IOS Sports & Leisure does give a ray of hope to the game and its players in the Capital.


It is for the first time in the country that a professional sports management agency has bought a football club. Besides, it is also the first ever corporate takeover soccer club in the capital. The club has already hired a professional coach in Nigerian Chima Okorie and are in negotiation with professional players to play for their team in the next season of NFL.

Osian's are associated with the oldest football tournament in the country by becoming the title sponsors of the Durand Cup while IOS are the event managers of the annual competition.

This takeover is another step in our continuing process to develop the game of India. They want to make the club a pioneer in Indian football. Right from its management to training facilities available, everything will be chairman of Osian's.

Hailing the deal, we players would like more and more sponsors in corporate houses to take over the mantle of clubs. DSA is not averse to the idea as long as it is for the betterment of the game. This is the only way to bring in money into the game and ignite interests in among the youngsters.

"It's a good sign. The flow of money is the only way to improve the game. Hope others follow suit”


~Harish

Delhi Football crying for support...

Surrounded by crumbling walls and three surviving gates, the still vibrant old Delhi, built during Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan’s reign, is very much a city within a city. A labyrinth of serpentine lanes crowded with rickshaws, it is lined with 17th century havelis whose once ornate facades are now defaced with rusted signs and sprouting satellite dishes. This decay symbolizes the dwindling fortune of football in the Walled City, a sad state of affairs since I once used to dominate Capital’s soccer scene.

In the halcyon days, driven by passion for the game, old Delhi trades and businessmen did not mind diverting their business profits into football, helping the emergence of well-known clubs like City Club, Simla Young, Shashtri FC, Youngmen FC, Mughals FC, Dwarka FC, and Indian Nationals.

While the club flourished, the game attracted the middle-class. Such was the clubs’ appeal that even common folks came forward with contributors as clubs like Indian Nationals or City Club became a part of their lives. Today, these clubs are up against harsh reality: How to carry on their legacy without funds? Passion alone cannot take them forward. The clubs have ceased to enjoy patronage from the locals as well. And businessmen no longer support them as they used to.

I feel, we are spending mostly from our resources. Gone are those days when these clubs would be treated with handsome contributions from Delhites. However, the recent takeover of New Delhi Heroes by auction house Osian and IOS Sports & Leisure has given them a ray of hope. For the record, it was the first ever corporate takeover of a soccer club in the capital.

It is definitely good for the game here. But there should be more takeovers like this. Today, a top club needs about Rs 10 to 15 lacs to run its affairs. It’s a huge amount by Delhi standards as football is still a poor man’s game here. But still, some clubs are able to manage the money required to run their affairs which indicates there are takers for the game. Most of these clubs depends on their communities for financial support. But with football’s charm slowly fading, even old fans now chose to stay away.

One of the main reasons for the decline of soccer in the capital, club official feel, is that DSA does not have its own ground. Ambedkar stadium which usually hosts important football matches in Delhi is easily available for fans from the Walled City. But ever since some games have been shifted out of Ambedkar, fans have found it difficult to follow their teams.

In fact, absences of proper grounds have pushed Delhi football way behind the rest. There was a time when people used to kick a ball on the roads, in the parks and in the empty areas which have been now taken over by high-rise buildings.

In Old-Delhi, if someone played football, others watched him and gradually followed him. That was how many youngsters took to the game. With some leading corporate showing interest in Indian Soccer recently, there has been something to cheer about for the soccer fan. But how will the lot of Delhi football improves, no one knows.


..Harish.