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Bibhash Lodh, BS News Agency: Truly, Selucas, what a strange country this is! The government of this country, better said the Union Sports Ministry. And of course the Indian Football Federation. If we explain it a little, it will be easier for everyone to understand. Suddenly, like a bye to Cuttack, the Indian Football Federation decided that the Indian senior football team will play three international friendly matches with Panama, Brazil and Uruguay. They can play it, because such an opportunity does not come to Indian footballers very often in 50 years. But I cannot accept that it is reasonable that Indian footballers will not be able to test their abilities if they do not play against Panama, Brazil and Uruguay.
Many will be in awe, so what is the best platform to test Indian footballers? Where is the opportunity for the Indian team to play against such a top-tier FIFA ranking team? Their purpose is to say one thing, when the Indian football team does not have the ability to reach the top eight at the Asian level, what will be the benefit of playing against Panama, Brazil, Uruguay? Everyone knows that the Union Sports Ministry did not allow the Indian football team to participate in the upcoming 2026 Japan Asian Games due to the Indian men's and women's teams not being in the top eight at the Asian level. The men's team was forced to make such a decision because it could not reach the main stage of the FC Asian Cup, but the women's team had the opportunity to participate in the Aichi-Nagoya Games, fulfilling the conditions for participating in the Asian Games. However, the Union Sports Ministry did not give the Indian women's football team a chance either.
What did Indian football gain from this? Earlier, when Priyaranjan Dasmunsi was the AIFF President, the Indian men's team was not allowed to participate in the Asian Games for two consecutive Asian Games. The Indian footballers missed out on the opportunity to test their skills at the international level, and that gap has not been closed even today. This time, the Union Sports Ministry took that reckless decision again under government pressure. And some officials of the federation even accepted it to save their seats.
This is not the end, the officials of the Indian Football Federation did not even take the opportunity to play in the FIFA Asian Cup, which could have been the real progress or power of Indian footballers. The participation of the Indian football team was confirmed in that FIFA-sanctioned tournament. If they had played, India's ranking could have improved if they had done well. At the same time, the experience and confidence of Indian footballers would have increased. For a while, the federation officials were saying that they would keep most of the senior players for the matches in Panama, Brazil and Uruguay and send the rest to play in the Asian Cup. That is, the team would be formed with those who could have played in the Asian Games. But that decision was also changed. The Indian team withdrew from participating in the Asian Cup as well.
It is not known what progress will be made in Indian football, but the Football Federation officials are excited about the Panama, Brazil and Uruguay matches. The federation does not have any additional expenses in organizing these three matches. All the expenses are being borne by 'Gauri Sen'. That is, the team of match organizers, agents and sponsors. If they do not spend a lot of money, the federation should not have any objection. On the contrary, sending a team to the Asian Games or the Asian Cup would have cost the government money, and at the same time, the federation would have had to bear some of the expenses. The federation does not have that responsibility in the case of the Panama, Brazil or Uruguay matches.
Some former footballers and football experts have raised the question, what is the rationale behind spending 70 to 100 crore rupees to organize the Indian football team's matches against Panama, Brazil and Uruguay? It would have been more profitable to use it for the infrastructure and development of Indian football. While their words are not wrong, it is also important to remember that the money that a special group, agent or sponsor is investing for the Panama, Brazil or Uruguay match is just a business for them. They did not come forward to organize this match thinking about the development of Indian football. They came to realize their own profits, to benefit from the business. The federation has no other role here, except to provide infrastructure for the national camp and spend some money. While the federation and club alliance are struggling to find sponsors for the ISL, a special group, agent and sponsor are coming forward to spend crores of rupees for the Panama, Brazil and Uruguay match. In fact, where there is no expense in their own pockets, the current officials in power in the federation are thinking of making a name for themselves by arranging matches between the Indian team and teams like Panama, Brazil and Uruguay. It is worth mentioning that there is a federation election ahead, which, although it is already time, has been postponed until December this year by FIFA's instructions. Then, when the election is held, a section of the federation officials, especially President Kalyan Choubey and Secretary General Satyanarayan, believe that by organizing a flashy match, they will get extra mileage along with the political backup of the central government. That will help them stay in power again. How much progress or deterioration has Indian football been made as a result of this, what does it matter?