India's passion for cricket has relegated other sports to the background. They suffer because every kid in India wants to hold a cricket bat or ball. This is basically due to the popularity of the game. Football also should have that popularity to attract kids to that game. There is also a lack of proper training academies in India for football. What Iam saying is that India will not have a competitive football team for atleast another 10 years. I say 10 years because first you have to identify talent by giving opportunities to people. This has to be done in both rural and urban centres. Hold more tournaments, more matches. Secondly, set up world-class training academies. Get foreign coaches if you have to. Send promising players abroad so that they can get a feel of the game played there. Give suitable rewards for good performances. Thirdly, build a good infrastructure for football. We have so many world-class cricket grounds but not even a single good football ground. Just think how many youngsters will get influenced if they see the likes of Ronaldo or Henry playing in India. All this has to be done if India wants to improve its ranking from the lowly 127 in the world.
It never fails to amaze - Indians penchant for self delusional chest-thumping - they won a title against treams equally as bad as they, but when playng against real competition, the Indians are no match. To become a powerhouse, Indian sports need to get out from under govt control and dependednce and become a professional system, like that of the US, but knowing the netas and babus penchant for grabbing and holding on to every ounce of power, Indian sports will forever remain a lackluster exercise in mediocrity.
It is not only football,every game other than cricket need to have sufficient advantage in respect of everything starting from sufficient pays to sponsorship so that players get encouraged to take the respective game seriously and proffessionally.football majorly playing some states like kerala,west bengal,goa,it is not there are no football playing states but as there are less less amount facilities/pays/sporsors/oroverall money involved than cricket players has to shifted to some other fields for income.And if we take other sports there is all single person talent......like sania in tennis,leander paes/mahesh bhupati in tennis,some golf players,rathore in shooting(olympian)with afford to play rather carry on in own interest,and reason is clear also that why we are far behind in world event like Olympics and all,if we need to be ahead means to match world class standard need to give serious attention as cricket..
