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Sportskeeda concludes the review of Indian football in 2013 by listing the top five highs of this calendar year.
5.Foreign exposures
Sunil Chhetri started 2013 at Portugal’s Sporting Lisbon ‘B’ but eventually returned to the I-League following a frustrating spell there but that didn’t discourage anyone from trying their luck abroad as Subrata Pal and Gouramangi Singh had trials at Danish top tier outfit FC Vestsjaelland while Nirmal Chhetri and Godwin Franco had a trial-cum-training stint at German second tier club Fortuna Dusseldorf. Syed Rahim Nabi was also offered trials at MLS outfit DC United but he couldn’t go ahead with it due to injury. In the end only Subrata managed to earn a contract with Vestsjaelland offering the custodian a six-month deal which he is expected to pen early in 2014. Becoming a regular there will be Subrata’s next challenge but just by securing a move to Europe the goalkeeper will inspire many footballers in the country.
4. Improve in I-League attendances
The addition of Bengaluru FC and promotions of Rangdajied United and Mohammedan Sporting have significantly improved the turnouts of the I-League in the 2013-14 season. Shillong already had one of the best supported clubs in Lajong but local rivals Rangdajied have also attracted good attendances in their debut season with the average being around 10000. Formed in 1891, Mohammedan Sporting is more of a social institution and unsurprisingly the average attendance on their return to the top flight has been more than 15,000 although their fans have mainly been in the news for creating trouble during matches with the club having paid three separate fines already. The I-League has also been more exposed to the social media with East Bengal becoming the first Indian club to reach one million likes on their Facebook page while the pages of Mohun Bagan and Shillong Lajong crossed 100,000.
3. Arrival of Bengaluru FC
One of the biggest success stories of Indian football this year has been Bengaluru FC. The JSW-owned club was allowed to automatically enter into the I-League following a successful bid as the AIFF started the process of having corporate clubs in the country’s topmost league and so far Bengaluru have more than justified their inclusion. Off the field they have already set standards that many established clubs will struggle to meet like creating a unique matchday experience for fans which includes matchday programmes much like the trend in top leagues around the world. Bengaluru have also made travel arrangements for fans for a couple of away matches and the football crazy city of Bangalore have embraced the new club completely with an average home attendance of around 7000. On the pitch too they have impressed as Ashley Westwood’s side lead the I-League table after 16 rounds.
2. East Bengal’s AFC cup run
With the Indian national team failing to impress at international level the record-breaking run of East Bengal to the AFC Cup semi-finals was very encouraging. The red-and-gold brigade became the first Indian club to top an AFC Cup group under Trevor Morgan and they achieved that without losing a match. Morgan guided them to the quarter-finals before parting ways in May and then East Bengal reached the last four under Brazilian Marcos Falopa after beating Indonesia’s Semen Padang 2-1 on aggregate in the last eight. The Kolkata club had emulated Dempo’s 2008 feat but couldn’t surpass it as they were beaten in the semis by eventual champions Kuwait SC. East Bengal had a perfect home record until the semis and their nine match unbeaten run is the joint-fourth best streak in the competition’s history.
1. Under-17 World Cup
Finally it seems sleeping giants India have a reason to wake up and get noticed in world football as the ever-supportive FIFA gave the world’s second most populated country the hosting rights of the 2017 Under-17 FIFA World Cup. Finally Indians will get to see their team in a football World Cup, albeit the under-17 version and hosting it could have plenty of long-term benefits, most notably a significant improvement in infrastructure. AIFF are also confident that India could get to host the FIFA Club World Cup in 2015 and 2016 as dress rehearsals to the U-17 World Cup. Normally Indian football events don’t catch the attention of the masses but this news created an enormous euphoria all around the country with the mainstream media also giving it plenty of coverage. Clearly it has given Indian football a lifeline or in the words of AIFF vice president Subrata Dutta accelerated the commercialisation of the sport in the country.
