Cows laze on grounds meant for Crespo, Pires and PLS

If you were a football fan in India, waiting for something half as big as the IPL, then it must have been an extremely exciting prospect for you to read about the Premier League Soccer coming to the country. It must have got even better when it was announced that Robert Pires, Hernan Crespo and Robbie Fowler were signed up for the tournament, finally giving Indian football fanatics something to cheer about. But when the tournament got postponed, few heads turned… it was as if you expected it to happen. The Celebrity Management Group (CMG), who were organising the tournament with the Indian Football Association (IFA), said in February that the tournament has been rescheduled. [caption id=“attachment_256122” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Hernan Crespo was the most expensive icon sold in the auction, going to Barasat for $840,000. Reuters”]  [/caption] For those who don’t know, the PLS was meant to be a local league within West Bengal, with teams like Siliguri, Durgapur, Howrah and Kolkata taking part. Modeled a little on the IPL’s format, teams also had the choice of snapping up international coaches with former Manchester City and England U-21 coach Peter Reid being one of them. So how can a country, as big as India, which has hosted the biggest cricket tournaments over the last few decades, not manage to organize a month-long football tournament when it finally had the chance? The answer is that the football pitches which were supposed to be used in the tournament have apparently become grazing grounds for the beloved cows of this country. Literally. Firstpost spoke to a source very close to the CEO of CMG: “We were told by the IFA that we would be given the grounds to get them ready in time for the tournament but suddenly they backed out. They said that the grounds have already been given away. But how is that even possible? If you see the pitch at Haldia, you can see cattle everywhere and the place is in a pathetic condition. It is typical of how football is treated in the country.” What about the stars then? What about Jay-Jay Okocha, Fowler, Pires and Crespo? “To be honest, we are not sure about their participation anymore. These players have told me that they have never come across something like this- being auctioned, signed and then told that the tournament is being postponed because the pitches are not available.” In short, administration has eaten into a very practical approach of hosting a tournament, with political ambitions and ministers interrupting the process. “Suddenly the sports minister comes into the scene and starts making public statements. This has gone on till the extent of someone blaming me of being from the opposition political party! It has just gone beyond any technical reasons and I sense it is more of an IFA vs government situation.” After these shenanigans, what is affected most is the face of Indian football- not the CMG, not the government and not the players. It is the image of the sport in the country which has incurred a loss. Our source rounds it up himself: “Foreign players and coaches won’t understand how this works. It’s a terrible situation… terrible.” Officials from the IFA were not available for comment. Reports also suggest that the AIFF is planning a PLS style league, but we don’t think that has something to do with the postponement of IFA’s league, right?