There is football in the air. The World Cup has reached the semifinal stage. Some top names have taken early flights home. New stars have emerged. The excitement is palpable in India too. However, Indian football is going through difficult times. The national team has been denied permission by the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) to participate in the Asian Games. Having set a criterion that in team disciplines, the country has to be among the top eight in Asia to earn passage, an IOA official has said there is no room for “also rans.” Other than smelling of double standards and bad taste, this statement is also far from the point.
Champions in 1951, 1962 and bronze winners in 1972, the football team stood no chance of winning a medal this time. But at 14th in Asia, this is an improving side, having had its best run in many decades. Qualifying for the Asian Cup coming up in January and breaking into the top 100 from 173 in 2015 are signs of slow yet steady progress. Even though football in Asian Games is an Under-23 event with three permitted above that limit, this could have been valuable exposure for the players. Being a parent body, the IOA should have considered this instead of dismissing the football federation’s plea to send the team—by paying for the expenses from its own funds—using an unkind adjective.
More importantly, a body famous for carrying freeloaders and footing bills for participants’ parents, the IOA is currently clearing the mess of Asian Games selection. Allegations of nepotism are flying thick and fast. Some aggrieved athletes have even won favourable court verdicts. The IOA can’t claim highest standards of fairness. And ridiculing football, it is funding teams for obscure martial art events like sambo, kurash, pencak silat, other than soft tennis and sports climbing. If athletes specialising in these can be offered full support, it’s not clear why football has to be denied when it is making an effort to improve.
