Football in India
Football is one of
the most popular games in India. The game commands a massive fan following
across the length and breadth of the country. But of late football has
lost out to its more illustrious cousin cricket in the popularity stakes. The
dwindling interest in the once-popular game is an ample reflection of the shabby
state of affairs in Indian football.
At a time when Indian sportspersons
are asserting themselves in the world stage and bringing laurels for the
country, the Indian football team is languishing at the bottom of the world
football rankings. This, despite the fact that India has been Asiad champions in
football and have performed commendably well in the Olympics in the 1960s.
The All India Football Federation (AIFF), the governing body in
football, introduced the National Football League in 1996 in a bid to raise the
standards of the game in India. The effort has met only partial success due to
the lack of a comprehensive package to focus on the fitness and tactical
dimensions of the players.
But a wind of change is blowing in Indian
football. The AIFF has roped in Bob Houghton as the new manager of the national
team and the Englishman is expected to deliver the goods on account of his
associations with some top-ranked Asian teams.
Football is an outdoor game played between two teams with a ball on a pitch with
goals at each end. Football is one of the most popular and simple games in the
world. The game began in England in the 12th century.
With the growing popularity of the game, delegates from seven nations formed the
Federation International de Foot Ball Association (FIFA) on May 21st
1904. India has its own tradition and varieties of foot ball played in different areas of
the country. But it was the British model of foot ball which came to be accepted
in India from the earlier part of the 19th century. The Association
foot ball (soccer) is played by two teams, each of 11 players including the goal
keeper, who attempt to get the ball into the opponents goal by kicking it. The
first national trophy contested by six teams at its inception was founded by a
Britisher, who was then India's Foreign Secretary, Sir Mortimer Durand at Army
Establishments. Over the years, a number of clubs and tournaments proliferated
all over the country, especially at Calcutta,
Bombay, Bangalore and Hyderabad. Besides the National Championships, the I.F.A
shield, the Durand, the DCM, the Rovers and the Nehru Tournaments; and for the
juniors the Subroto Mukerjee and the Little Durand tournaments have given us
talented footballers. India made the debut in Olympic Foot ball at the London
games in 1948. India first won the foot ball gold at the inaugural Asiad in
Delhi in 1951. Indian women also have ventured into the field of Foot ball with
considerable success. They clinched the third place in the 1981 Asian Women's
Cup Foot ball Championships staged in Hong Kong.
