Indian football has been plagued with issues for a long time. It reached a peak in 2022 when FIFA banned the All India Football Federation (AIFF) because of the outside intervention of the Committee of Administrators (CoA) which was formed by the Supreme Court to take over from former president Praful Patel.
Since then, a lot has changed with the AIFF executive council in terms of the members, but the issues are still lingering, as can be seen in the Indian Women's League (IWL) which is the premier football league for women in India.
For men, the most popular league is the Indian Super League (ISL). This is widely watched by all football-loving fans in the country but unlike the ISL, the IWL does not get the same kind of coverage, making sure that their issues do not come into the public light.
This season, the tournament is being held in Ahmedabad while the summer heat is in full flow. So much so that the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation has issued an 'orange warning' for citizens to stay indoors during the day.
'No rest hurts the team'
And even to perform in such weather, the rest that a player gets is very important, something that has not left VC Praveen, Owner of Gokulam Kerala FC, all too pleased.
"The last three to five years that we have been playing, every time it has been as though they are conducting for namesake...," he told Sports Tak in an exclusive interview. "We don't have proper timings (for training or matches) and even proper rest. Some of the matches will be held within less than 48 hours time."
The Gokulam Kerala Women's team, the winner of the 2021-22 IWL season, are fighting for a spot in the final and face Eastern Sporting Union in the second semi-final game to be held at 8:30 pm on May 19. However, the final is on May 21 at 8:00 pm, leaving them less than 48 hours to prepare for the all-important decider (if they qualify) against KickStart FC Karnataka, pointing to a clear lack of disorganisation on the part of the league's organisers.
"We are playing the second semi-final (of the tournament) at 8:30 (today). So assuming that the match is played for 90 mins then it will get by 10:15 pm. Whoever wins will have to play the final on (May) 21st at 7 pm or 8 pm. So if you calculate from the final whistle and the start of the final, there's only almost 48 hours. The first team (into the final) would have played an hour before."
"You don't expect a big crowd or anything like that. So why the 21st? They can have it on the 22nd also, give enough recovery time and have the finals on Monday," he added.
'Accomodation needs bettering'
The GKFC Owner was also not happy with the allocation of flats, with the organisers constantly changing the venues for the teams and also housing a member of their opponents' coaching staff in the same flat as their own team's coaching staff members. Citing the need for separate accommodation Praveen said, "This is a league where the organisers said that we will be putting our coaching staff in a flat with four rooms — three rooms were ours but the fourth room was occupied by a different official from a different club."
"When we ask them why? Because privacy is important if they have to sit in a hall or commonplace and work out strategies. So if it is a flat, give that to the full team. When we requested, the simple answer this is what we can provide, if you want you can pay on your own."
"This is the Indian Women's League (IWL), the top-most league were clubs are spending in crores. So a few extra Lakhs for accommodation is nothing. These embarrassments should be avoided and the AIFF should have more knowledge on this," opined the GKFC president.
However, Praveen did say that upon complaining to the AIFF secretary, their issues were resolved, pointing more towards a lack on communication between the IWL organisers and the AIFF. “The AIFF should be having more knowledge on this. So when we request the secretary about this, they said I can understand and I'll ask the organisers to provide the same,” he said.
The current season is almost at an end and the players have had to go through a tough time, braving the weather and the other conditions but with the AIFF promising a bright future, the expectations are high, as long as the new AIFF president Kalyan Chaubey has finally heeded the voices of investors like VC Praveen, and many others.
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