The conundrum surrounding Indian football

Scope of this plan

This is a comprehensive system and will benefit existing school level coaches, as well as unearth new coaching talent. School coaches could double-up as academy coaches for the evenings or weekends, thus enhancing their earnings.

More schools need to be encouraged to participate in the national-level tournaments. This will help more talented players rise through the ranks. Schools will also get national recognition for winning titles, and this would be win-win for players, coaches and all the others involved.

There will be more opportunities for referees, and AIFF should encourage people to pursue refereeing as a career option. India needs quality referees, and the AIFF can unearth some gems from the system. The AIFF must make a better effort towards treating referees considering the apathy the current ones go through.

Moreover, this plan is beneficial for the clubs and the national team as scouts get to see a varied group of players, and can hence judge their skill-set correctly.

Indian coaches like Bibiano Fernandes are the need of the hour for our young footballers to grow

Most of this plan already exists; it's just about making the timings and duration align one after the other, and to make the necessary additions. Our usage of existing facilities will also improve. For example, the AIFF will certainly benefit if it is allowed to use the Armed Forces' facilities for the Subroto Cup.

Plus, if children represent their school, it means that they are attending school. So our next batch of footballers will be well-educated and will not fall for false promises. They will also be able to communicate better with foreign coaches and referees, and this will help them greatly if they get to play abroad.

This kind of plan creates amazing job opportunities for coaches, referees, scouts, and many professionals. While the plan for the top division has already been made, it is the grass-root development that we need to always prioritize. If this kind of plan is implemented, we can hopefully see India at a World Cup in the next 5-6 years.

It's all out there; if we have a plan, and stick to it, and follow it with discipline, there is no reason why we can't be playing world cups. Hence arises the question: to be or not to be? The ball is in the court of the federation. It's high time we made some changes to ensure realistic grassroots development.