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All that Indian Football required was a small spark to ignite a candle and spread the light around. Just as when the interest towards football slowly started to grow, India was in desperate need of something huge to happen.
It could not have come in a better form than the INDIAN SUPER LEAGUE (ISL). A new chapter to the book of Indian Football has started to find it’s way.
The football fans in India were ecstatic after hearing that the Under-17 Football World Cup is to be held in India. This was probably the first big step towards improving the quality of Indian Football. A follow up of the ISL has added more colour to the painting.
Popularity of football has grown tremendously over the past few years in India. Seeing the likes of Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Andres Iniesta the very idea of football in India has changed.
Overseas Players's and Managers's Impact:
India hasn’t taken big strides in the form of the I-League. Although it has been an encouraging factor for a few it has not created that great an impact. The Indian Super League has without doubt brought a positive impact in people’s mind in a short span of time.
It has done so due to the likes of legends like Alessandro Del Pierro, Robert Pires, Joan Capdevilla, Marco Materazzi, Luis Garcia- players whom we have only seen on our television sets. Seeing them live in action is truly a spectacle.
With the inclusion of such greats not only has it made the ISL an exciting prospect to look forward to, but will also help take Indian football to the next level. The vast experience and quality that these players bring to the ISL matches will certainly help the Indian Players immensely.
Peter Reid (manager of Mumbai City FC) has managed teams of calibre such as Manchester City, Sunderland and Leeds United bring in the best technical abilities one can ask for.
What this overseas group can provide India is something that India is in need of. Given the amount of exposure the Indians get from these coaches and players will drastically bring about a change in the way we see Indian Football.
Ownership:
The likes of big names such as Neeta Ambani, Abhishek Bachchan, Ranbir Kapoor etc are probably the ones who can provide the much required financial support. If not for these powerful owners, we would have not been able to bring in those hugely experienced foreign players, and learn the higher nuances of the beautiful game form.
By this the Indian Super League has promoted itself without much of advertisements. What this ownership has also managed is to bring in enough sponsorship for the League which was not possible in the I-League.
Young Talent:
What this ISL will also do is put a question in the youngsters’ mind. Previously many youngsters who aspired to play football at an international level were in the mindset of leaving to different parts of the country for better opportunities.
But what ISL has done is to make those very same youngsters give a second thought, not a normal second thought but a pretty serious and strong one. Looking into this scenario the teams will set up youth clubs to nurture talent.
As Zico said, “The biggest obstacle that you have in India is at the grass root level. Great players are created under the age of 15 and 19. “This explains that there have not been many steps taken to cultivate and promote young talent. The ISL is probably the big step in achieving this task. Set up of youth clubs will certainly help in attaining the goal.
The additional support from the owners will add to their financial support. Earlier during the I-League players had not been earning as much as they would have liked to. But now that this problem will successfully be tackled, these youngsters can now pursue their dream here in their Motherland.
