As they say in cricket Wednesday, also the first day of the fourth India-England Test, was a moving day. It began with the National Sports Governance Bill being introduced in Parliament and a meeting of the technical committee of the All India Football Federation (AIFF) to ready a shortlist for Manolo Marquez’s replacement and finished with East Bengal beginning the Indian Oil 134th Durand Cup with a bang.
Bill for change
The sports governance bill has been some time in the making, the journey beginning in 2011 through then Union sports minister Ajay Maken. Even though they are on different sides of the political divide, sports minister Mansukh Mandaviya gave credit to Maken for “doing good work in shaping the National Sports Code, 2011.”
With the National Sports Election Panel, National Sports Tribunal and the all-powerful National Sports Board, the bill will change the way sport is governed in India and align the country with the USA, UK, China, and Japan once it becomes law. “While the law is expected to streamline things, it remains how the right balance between autonomy of BCCI and state oversight can be achieved,” HT said in an editorial. The context is cricket but the larger point of maintaining autonomy is relevant to football where FIFA does not take kindly to third-party interference.
Lawyer Rahul Mehra is among those who do not see it as a
. Mehra has his facts right and makes more than a few points but it is equally true that, as per the union sports ministry, there are more than 350 cases related to sport that were in courts when the bill was tabled.
Football is a case in point. The litigation has dragged on and on and the new AIFF constitution remains a work in progress. Since the bill lists eligibility criteria for election, it will direct who can contest for the president’s and other post in AIFF. But that is for later.
Jamil frontrunner
More immediate is the need to find a replacement for Manolo Marquez. India are likely to use the September window and they play Singapore in crucial Asian Cup qualifiers in October so it is likely that a coach who knows the country and the players will be considered. Which could make Tarkovic the third among equals.
Tarkovic coached the Slovakia team that beat Poland 2-1 in the Euro 2020 and though he is 52 and has an idea of football in Asia, he is not familiar with India. Jamil and Constantine are. But it is possible that Jamil’s run with Jamshedpur FC last term, taking the unheralded side to the semi-final of the Indian Super League and the Super Cup, could make him the favourite for the job.
East Bengal begin with a bang
On the business of favourites, 16-time champions East Bengal began the Durand Cup giving notice that they are in it to win it. True, there will be sterner tests than young debutants South United FC but what better than starting with a 5-0 win. Naorem Mahesh Singh enjoyed the start to his stint as captain with a peach of a goal, new comer Bipin Singh scored and Dimitrios Diamantakos got a goal in his first match. That three players from the bench scored will please coach Oscar Bruzon.
East Bengal have made a raft of signings including Edmund Lalrindika, Jay Gupta and imports Miguel Figueira, Mohammed Rashid and Kevin Sibilla. They will hope it will be enough to build a squad that can win a 17th Durand Cup whose prize purse has been upped over 250% to ₹3 crore.
Durand Cup has survived World Wars and the wars independent India fought. In 1928, Lord Irwin gave away the prizes and in 1935 government officials were granted leave to watch matches .
It is fitting that a competition with such rich history puts our focus back on what is happening on the pitch. Hopefully it will be that way till August 23. By then, FC Goa will have played their Asian Champions League 2 qualifier and Mohun Bagan Super Giant began training for the main round of the same competition in September. Durand Cup’s 43 matches is not a lot and the uncertainty of when ISL will start remains, but along with India’s matches, we can look forward to some football.
Play of the week
