Club vs country in Indian football: Compromises needed but talks should have begun earlier

From constantly asking ‘When will India play next?’ to a schedule loaded with international fixtures, it has been quite a paradigm shift in Indian football. After playing Intercontinental Cup and SAFF Championship in June-July, India are set to play in the King’s Cup (October), Merdeka Tournament (November) before the all-important AFC Asian Cup in January-February next year. Amid all this, India’s U-23 side would take part in the Asian Games (September-October). Exciting as the calendar is, it was sure to put the All India Football Federation (AIFF) and Indian Super League (ISL) clubs on collision course and that is exactly what has happened. As per the Times of India, India U-23 camp for the AFC U-23 Asian Cup Qualifiers has been postponed from 12 August to 20 August after clubs refused to release players amid the ongoing Durand Cup. The qualifiers are to take place in China from 6-12 September, during the crucial pre-season when clubs are looking to find their best combinations and hoping to avoid any unnecessary injuries. Clubs resisting calls from national teams to release players is nothing new but this year and next, there will be multiple windows when the Indian team will need players outside the FIFA window - in which clubs are mandated to release players. And if the refusal to release players for the U-23 Asian Cup Qualifiers camp is any indication, India’s Asian Games participation, which was approved after extensive backchannel efforts, could face similar resistance. Scheduled to take place between 19 September and 7 October, the football competition at Asian Games is set to clash with the start of ISL 2023-24 which will reportedly start in late September. Additionally, Mumbai City FC will play AFC Champions League matches in September and AFC Cup games will be on for Mohun Bagan Super Giant and Odisha FC in August and September. With Sunil Chhetri and Gurpreet Singh Sandhu added to India's Asian Games squad, Bengaluru FC are set to lose five key players at the start of the new ISL season. Other clubs would be losing important players as well. The U-23 camp included five Mumbai players. This is when the club has just begun its preparation for the AFC Champions League and ISL 2023-24 after a long break. [caption id=“attachment_12926192” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] The tussle between AIFF and ISL clubs could also impact India’s preparations for Asian Games. AIFF image[/caption] In a club vs country debate, it’s natural to feel the clubs should release players for international commitments but one needs to also consider the investment the domestic football bodies have made. The clubs are the breeding ground for players and the conveyor belt of talent for the national teams. Having invested crores in building brands, developing players, and buying superstar footballers, one mustn’t be surprised if clubs are willing to prioritise their tournaments over the national team events. With the ISL growing to 12 teams after the addition of Punjab FC, India using the FIFA windows in October and November and the AFC Asian Cup next year, the league, for the first time, is expected to stretch to April, maybe May, and the costs for running the affairs (including salaries, stadium fees and training ground expenses) are going to spiral. We still haven’t talked about the Federation Cup which is returning this year as India’s premier cup competition. Add to this, India coach Igor Stimac has constantly demanded a four-week preparatory camp before the Asian Cup. The dates of that camp would obviously fall outside the FIFA window as the global body only mandates a five-day pre-tournament camp, posing more troubles for the clubs. So, what is the solution? Compromise. There’s no other solution. AIFF secretary general Shaji Prabhakaran offered the same solution. “The government has gone out of its way to support football in India and we cannot afford to let this opportunity slip. When the national team does well, the overall sentiment for football is at a different level and that has multiple impacts. The clubs are our equal partners in this journey. We have to be flexible and make some sacrifices,” he told The Times of India. While the players are contracted to the clubs that have all the right to not release an athlete outside of the FIFA window, the international matches are about playing for the national flag and pride. On an international stage, you don’t represent a city, a locality, or a state; there, you represent a country. In India’s case, the Blue Tigers represent over 1.4 billion people. And as has been the case in football, national teams would always need help from the clubs. The interesting bit here is that the clubs do realise their duties. They know that India doing well at the international level would have ripple effects on Indian football. It is widely acknowledged that Indian football’s popularity has jumped multifold since Blue Tigers’ excellent performances across Intercontinental Cup and SAFF Championships. That’s a big reason that at least a three-week preparatory camp for the Asian Cup would be granted, as per reports. However, for any sort of desired compromise, open discussions have to be held. And this is where the AIFF has not made its move correctly. The virtual discussion between India coach Stimac and ISL clubs was to take place on 8 August and that was postponed due to the non-availability of coaches. It makes you wonder why this meeting didn’t take place at least a fortnight ago. Why didn’t it take place before the AIFF got the approval to send its teams to the Asian Games? The busy calendar which is upon us was known well in advance. Also baffling is the fact that even before the meeting, Stimac took to Twitter on 5 August, urging for support from ISL clubs.

A sincere request to all ISL clubs and their respective coaches 🙏🏼💙@MumbaiCityFC @mohunbagansg @eastbengal_fc @bengalurufc @ChennaiyinFC @KeralaBlasters @NEUtdFC @JamshedpurFC @HydFCOfficial @FCGoaOfficial @OdishaFC @RGPunjabFC pic.twitter.com/rX4Gzh02Pw

— Igor Štimac (@stimac_igor) August 5, 2023

Sincere as Stimac may have been in his request, a social media post demanding support from clubs instead of having words in person, only puts the ISL teams in a bad light. The AIFF with Asian Games approval showed exemplary alacrity and diplomacy to clinch victory for Indian football. The current leadership of president Kalyan Chaubey and secretary general Prabhakaran has made all the right noises, since taking over last year, with focus on popularising the sport, restructuring competitions and national teams’ progress, however, the handling in the current matter leaves something to be desired. One can only see the matter escalating further unless the ISL clubs have a sudden heart of change.