Founded in the year 2013 by IMG and Reliance along with Start Sports, the Indian Super League came as a savior for Indian football, which grew hopes in every football fans and lovers across India. It is now the top league in India.
Era before ISL
Prior to the entry of Indian Super League, I League was the main event of Indian Football which till this year was the main league of the country. Club giants like East Bengal, Mohun Bagan, Dempo and Churchill Brothers were the most popular teams which attracted thousands of spectators into the ground in a nation where people does not really care about any other sports than Cricket. Later came the North-Eastern clubs like Royal Wahingdoh, Shillong Lajong and others which put up a positive effect on Indian Football, few even went up to become table toppers!
The problem with I League
Although some of the I League clubs
being well established (teams like East
Bengal and Dempo entering the semifinals of AFC Cup, the Asian club tournament equivalent to Europa League), the popularity of the
game was limited to a few states, primarily West Bengal, Goa, Manipur and such
states. This limited the growth of football in this country and there was no
hope of any change in the situation. Even, most of the bottom half teams did
not even have half of the budgets that the top teams had.
Inception of ISL in Football Circuit
With the announce of ISL into the
football circuit, it attracted curiosity about the new league; the announcement
of world footballing legends like Luis
Garcia, Elano, Del Piero and many such players brought
in interest from the young viewers who were otherwise regular followers of English Premiere League (EPL) and La Liga. The opening
ceremony of ISL even brought in glamour to Indian football which was absolutely
missing in the circuit.
Living up to the expectations of
football fans, the matches are exciting as well. The excellent coverage,
lighting, glamour, commentators everything added to it and made it a successful
one. The fact that ISL’s viewership is increasing every year validates its
impact.
Role of Foreigners in ISL teams
The ISL started with allowing six foreigners
in the starting eleven, this ensured that the quality of football stayed at a
good level where audience and spectators enjoy the game (who wants to watch missed passes and wasting goal chances!). With
the shifting of focus for the clubs from bringing in older legends to young
quality foreigners like Coro, Roy Krishna and Ogbeche, the game of each team only improved. They brought in
experience to the clubs which helped the Indian players. Who could have thought
that India could hold Qatar, the reigning Asian champions to
a draw!
Talks of decrease in Foreigners
Since the beginning of Indian Super League, foreigners were
the key factors that contributed to a club’s success; better the foreigners,
better are their style of play and more chances of winning the trophy. But the
concern of national coach Igor Štimac
that players are not getting enough chance and Indian strikers are not growing is
forcing the ISL management and All India Football Federation (AIFF) to consider decreasing the number
of foreigners in the clubs, which might be coming into effect from the year
2021-2022.
My take on the issue
The dismal performance of the
national team against Afghanistan and Bangladesh showed where we are lagging behind----STRIKERS
(the ones responsible for scoring goals
and getting the valuable 3 points for the team). There is no one who can
take the responsibility after the “Captain Fantastic” Sunil Chhetri. Also the loss of Bengaluru FC, one of the most
successful teams in ISL and last year AFC Cup runners up made me think the
current system of club teams’ playing eleven.
I would advocate the possibility of
4+1 foreigners on field (four foreigners
and one Asian) instead of 3+1 on field (three
foreigners and one Asian) because I fear that this might affect the quality
of play in the pitch. I know that if Indian players are not given enough game
time, it would be of no use for the national team. But it should also be
acknowledged that if the spectators lose interest, ISL would also lose its
purpose.
Conclusion:
Decreasing the number of foreigners
does not guarantee the growth of Indian strikers as clubs can still go for two
foreign strikers. Instead AIFF should think of some rules to make it mandatory for
the teams to field domestic strikers in the playing eleven irrespective of the
number of foreigners playing. Club academies should be given more importance so
that standard young talent comes up. The fact that the football fans have a lot
of hopes attached to Indian Super League
should also be thought of and not make it the same as I League in the future.
What's your take on the issue, please comment it out
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