Act before it hurts

All India Football Federation (AIFF) has done more harm to Indian football than good. It is by courtesy of AIFF that Indian football is no longer a force in Asian football. Twice Asian champions now satisfy themselves with triumphs like LG Cup and SAF Cup.

But things could entirely be different if AIFF had acted in a proper manner. Take the example of the Santosh Trophy fiasco. Months have passed since the incident in which Manipur, a major force in Indian football at present, was undone by the referee of the Manipur-Goa match. A blunder by the referee had not only spoiled the chances of Manipur to reach the title round, it had also put a question mark on the ability of AIFF to conduct such a tournament as it has yet to take a final decision on this matter.

Delay in taking decision came even after AIFF president P. R. Das Munshi’s remark that the incident was an unfortunate one, which should not have happened. He even went to   the extent of saying that Manipur is India’s future in sports. Yet, surprisingly AIFF is mum on delivering the final verdict.

What will happen if angered by the unwanted silence Manipuri people go ahead with its plan to boycott all tournaments organized by AIFF. AIFF may not bother too much about the decision as it is apparent from its time-wasting tactics, but the football lovers will be robbed of the opportunity of watching one of the best teams in the country and some of the best footballers in action. This will do no good to Indian football.

Already All Manipur Football Association (AMFA) had not sent Manipur teams to participate in the U-14 football tournament at Chandigarh and in the U-19 football tournament in Benares which commenced from December 23. It is also denying budding footballers from the State to show their skills at the national level. No practice is better than match practice. But young Manipuri footballers are not getting the chance because of AIFF’s inaction. Thus for the sake of Indian football, for the betterment of Indian football, AIFF should act at the earliest to end the impasse. Otherwise it will hurt Indian football badly in the near future.

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