Football starts at home

Brandon Fernandes has become an overnight sensation after being called up for trials by English Premier League club, Reading FC. The 17-year-old has become the hot topic among the Indian football fan fraternity, getting applauded for being on the brink of achieving what every young football fan in India dreams of. The football aficionados in the country seem to have finally found someone of their own who is going to represent them at the International level and with the National team ranked 168^th in the Fifa rankings, who’s to blame them?

Football is a sport of love, intensity, rivalry, passion and pride. What gets the players going on the field is not how many millions and billions are watching them on TV at home. It’s the fans in the stadiums singing their names out loud, crying in their defeats and celebrating their victories. Every footballer wants to play in front of full stadiums.

It is said, in India everyone is a cricket fan. The gentleman’s game is followed religiously by a cricket crazy nation. That being said, the rare species of Football fans do exist. But most of them have pledged their allegiance towards the big Europeans clubs. Chelsea, United and likes of Madrid are the clubs to support and Ronaldo and Messi are their idols. I-league clubs and players are hardly on anyone’s list.

Ankit Chatterjee, a second year student of Mass communication, is a diehard Chelsea supporter and wants to be a sports journalist in the future. But he has never been to a stadium to watch his hometown club East Bengal FC play. Sounak, who proudly puts on his brand new Manchester United jersey, supports Mohan Bagan .“ I am from Kolkata, I grew up with my Dad who is also a Bagan fan,” but like Ankit, Sounak also has never paid a visit to his local club stadium.

Indian Football scenario has become such that everyone loves to hate. Some blame the administration for not developing the game and infrastructure. While the media is held culpable for not giving due coverage to the game, what about the fans of the beautiful game in the country? Are they not equally responsible for the farce that is the Indian football? Do you even watch your local clubs, have you ever gone to support them?

It is the fans who make the game, not state of the art stadiums or internationals players at your club. Middle East clubs have pumped millions and millions of dollars in signing marquee players and managers from Europe, but fans still desert them. And at the International scene, not even a single country from the Middle East made it to the 2010 World Cup. Foreign players are often quoted feeling disappointed, having to play in front of empty stadiums.

Winning the Nehru cup was great but if the fans are expecting more, they have to start giving more to the game.