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Indian youths are obsessed with football, be it playing the beautiful game or just watching their favorite teams play every weekend. But when it comes to Indian Football, it is more or less rocket science to them. They cannot be blamed as the level of football they watch is pretty high but to popularise Indian football there are a few simple things that can be changed.Here is a list of a few things that can be changed that might generate more interest among the millions of football fans in the country.
#1 Fan Interaction
Clubs need to be more involved in fan base expansion than just playing football on the field. While football would be the main reason to attract the fans to the matches, there are a lot of other things that the clubs can implement to increase viewership.
European football fans head to screenings to enjoy a game of football rather than sit at home and watch the game. The main reason for that is that it makes a great viewing and you get to enjoy the banter between the supporters. Clubs should promote chanting in the stadiums for the fans to enjoy themselves even if they don't have a goal to celebrate.
Clubs can also upload videos on their online pages to generate more interest such as crossbar challenges, penalty challenges etc. The last Manchester United penalty challenge had over 2 million views on youtube. This way fans still can stay in touch with what is happening around the club even when the clubs are not playing actual football. If the club leaves boards to make a mosaic in the stands the fans would feel more involved in the game.
Bengaluru FC are a prime example of how to get fans involved with the club. In their maiden season, the club randomly selected fans to have a kick about with the first team players at the club. The fans who have such an experience with the club will remain loyal to the club no matter what. That is what Indian football is in need of right now
The clubs could get the crowd more involved by announcing the goal scorers name on the PA system in the ground. An example of what can be done is shown below:
#2 Longer contracts
Loyalty is something that is highly appreciated by fans in football. Players like Paolo Maldini, John Terry or Ryan Gigs will always be loved more than Zlatan Ibrahimovic who changes clubs in every two years. You don't see players switching between rival clubs unless there is an exceptional reason. Luis Figo had a severed pigs head thrown at him when he showed up at the Nou Camp to play for Real Madrid.
Arguably the two greatest players India has produced in the last ten years have been Baichung Bhutia and Sunil Chhetri. Both have played for a combined total of 16 clubs across India, with Baichung playing for both Kolkata Giants twice. Mohun Bagan won the I-League after 13 years as a result of a Bello Rasaq goal three minutes before the season ended. Next season Rasaq will play the red and gold of East Bengal.
Football is a game of heroes and you don't give away a player such as Rasaq to your nearest rivals. The easiest way to stop such things from happening is to hand players longer contracts. There will always be the money constraint that the Indian clubs face but this is something that would help the fans relate to clubs better.
#3 Better Coverage
If you watch the I-League live on the television it, you get the feeling that you have gone back in time and are watching the 1970 World Cup again. Even if someone is willing to watch the match at home on TV, the coverage is a huge detractor. As an Indian football fan, one would not expect the kind of coverage given to the English Premier League but having the same sort of coverage as the Indian Super League would be a boost for I-League fans.
If one switches to a sports channel in India, there is always some coverage of the European Football. Be it a full game, highlights or a show discussing football in general you can always find coverage when you want to. News channels give full analysis of matches during the IPL and even about European football.
Newspapers have a huge photograph of Wayne Rooney celebrating a goal in the headline while a close game in the I-League is restricted to a few column inches. If we want Indian Football to rise we have to make it available to the general public. The more it is available for the people, more people would be interested in keeping tabs on the teams and the league.
#4 Clubs in more cities
In India, there are only five main areas where football is played which include Goa, Kolkata, the North East, Bengaluru and Maharashtra. In the first edition of the Indian Super League, the most supported club in the country was Kerela Blasters, with the fans giving a full house in almost every game with attendance going above 60,000(that is more than the capacity of Chelsea and Liverpool).
Kerala haven't had a team in the I-League since 2012 when Chirag United were relegated to the second division of Indian Football. Similarly, North India don't have any representation since JCT were relegated and consequently decided to disband.
Ideally the I-League should follow the standard 20 team league that goes on for nine months which would mean more clubs would be able to participate and more fans can support their hometown team.
People are able to connect better with clubs if they can see the team is representing them in the league. It becomes a moment of pride when a team from you city become the Champion of the league.
