As kids under the age of sixteen headed out to play in their jerseys for the finals of the Mumbai Schools Sports Association (MSSA) boys’ Under-16 football division one finals at Mumbai’s Azad Maidan, the excitement was palpable on their faces. Devoid of any other thought, these kids gave their all to the game. Ultimately, as Don Bosco – Matunga emerged triumphant, one wondered what will happen to this breed of footballers when they leave school. No one seemed to know. Not the coaches. Nor the parents.
For this is the uncertain reality of football in Mumbai. While budding footballers get to train and play in competitive leagues at a very young age, all of this stops after the age of 16. Reason? Lack of an MSSA-type league at junior college. This is also that stage when parents are coercing children to ‘get serious’ about life and spend more time with books, and less with the game.
Which brings us to the next question. Can a proper league structure at the junior college level help save some of our footballers? Possibly. At least, it gives them a chance to keep polishing their skills and not lose two valuable years until they join junior college. After junior college, players can compete in intra-university and inter-university tournaments within Maharashtra.
Some like Lloyd Vaz, who played in the MSSA U-16 tournament in 2008 are lucky. He, along with some of his friends from school, formed a team and joined the Mumbai District Football Association, which manages association football in Mumbai. But not everyone is this lucky. The budding players can also compete for Maharashtra state team selections but getting selected is not easy. Beyond that, there is not much to write about the game in the state.
As any sportsperson will affirm to, ages 16-19 are very critical to sporting. Much of the initial skill building happens in this age. When you are taking away these very years from children, some indeed talented, how can we expect to build a national team which can challenge the best around the world? Football, arguably, is the sport where our national team has made the least progress over the years. This despite India being a soccer-crazy nation. We are making a name for ourselves in badminton, wrestling, tennis but football is nowhere in the picture.
In our country where parents dominate the decisions of their children, the young cannot possibly pursue the game, even if they are passionate about it. Perhaps a seamless transition from school to college level football can be the perfect push needed for Indian football. This can pave the way for more kids to take up the game, and more importantly convince their parents about it.