Arunava about Football A look at football & the world through my eyes!
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When I heard that the All India Football Federation (AIFF) and the Saudi Arabia Football Federation (SAFF) have signed an MoU, out of own experience my first thought was, hopefully both sides have some concrete ideas and plans to fill this MoU with life.
Often such MoU’s signed by the AIFF over the last two decades where launched under much fanfare with some great photos and press conferences, but after a certain period of time after initial projects, these MoU’s died their natural dead as the Indian side did not request for the support that it needed, while the foreign FA didn’t know what support to give the Indian side and what they needed.
While reading about the AIFF and SAFF tie-up I came across the point that the Santosh Trophy in the next three years would be played in Saudi Arabia. What? The Santosh Trophy in Saudi Arabia? That did surprise me, but one needs to look into it and if it would work for Indian football or not.
So I ask the question, Is playing the Santosh Trophy in Saudi Arabia a good or a bad idea?
First of all I’d like to say, taking Indian football to foreign shores is something that I always supported and will always do, but one needs to be clear what kind of football product is taken abroad and what is the advantage for Indian football in doing so.
Playing Indian football matches abroad, especially in the Middle East, is an idea which I like and have suggested a number of times in the past but the right match or tournament/competition needs to be looked at.
And on that point, I feel the Santosh Trophy as a state competition isn’t the right tournament to take abroad.
And why so? While India’s top professional club competitions in the Indian Super League and the I-League only play in home cities and states from which the teams are or at a secondary home venue. This means, they are stuck to where they would play.
The Santosh Trophy qualifiers are played across India and the final round can be taken to parts of India, where the top club competitions don’t go but have the infrastructure to host the Santosh Trophy final round.
We need to better use the Santosh Trophy final round to spread Indian football! Just remember last seasons final between Kerala and West Bengal at the Manjeri Stadium in Malappuram, Kerala.
Further hosting the Santosh Trophy final round in Saudi Arabia will bring with it some basic logistical problems. Some of the up and coming players in the Santosh Trophy will not have passports, so some could miss out on the chance to play in the Santosh Trophy final round. If players don’t have a passport, who will pay for it? The players themselves? The state association? The AIFF? Saudi Arabia? Could also visas be an issue?
Also Indian football fans at home will be robbed from the chance to watch the matches. And twill expats come to watch the matches? If Kerala is playing, then surely they will have good fan support, but other states could play infront of empty stadiums.
Looking at the above I feel the Santosh Trophy should be played in India and maybe some other match(es) is/are taken to Saudi Arabia. I know that taking club football abroad would be difficult as this would get the AFC and FIFA involved in the matter and they will as other examples show stop Indian league matches in Saudi Arabia or elsewhere abroad.
Let’s wait and see how the AIFF handle the matter.
The idea of playing the final round of the #SantoshTrophy in #SaudiArabia has its charms but also potential dangers.
Expanding the footprint of #IndianFootball is great but one has to also consider that many players will not have a passport to travel amongst other things…
— Arunava Chaudhuri | arunfoot (@Arunfoot) October 7, 2022
