Challenge of the final frontier of football

Ten years ago a young man named Baichung Bhutia made the unlikely journey from Bengal to Bury, becoming the first Indian to play professional football outside his homeland.
Bhutia, the captain of the Indian national team, saw himself as a pioneer. Bury congratulated themselves on a coup that would allow them to tap into the Asian market – the Asian population of their town, that is, rather than dreaming of kids wandering around the streets of Mumbai and Calcutta wearing Bury shirts.
It was an anticlimax. For all his talent, Bhutia struggled to adapt to the physical demands of English football and scored only 3 goals in 46 appearances. Bury confessed that the “Bhutia Bounce” had not materialised. When his contract expired at the end of the 2001-02 season, he returned to India.
India is regarded by many as football’s final frontier. The leading Premier League clubs have, between them, visited and enjoyed considerable commercial success in China, Japan, South Korea, South Africa and Nigeria. India is ranked 143 in the world, which makes them only the 20th best national team in Asia.
source: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article5484933.ece

Mahilpur the 'football village' of Punjab

ANI

By Karan Kapoor
Mahilpur (Punjab), July 15 (ANI): Punjab has produced many football players of national fame. And village Mahilpur in Hoshiarpur district's is known for its long association with the football.
The passion for football lives on in people even long after it was introduced in the village by Harbhajan Singh, a school principal, in 1920's.

The village boasts of producing great players of repute like Jarnail Singh, Gurdev Singh, Chaudhary Ram Kishan, and the tradition lives on in the young enthusiasts of today.
"There is a culture of football in this area. Every village has its own football ground, no other sport is given much priority be it cricket or any other game. Only football is given importance here," said Ali Jasna, Coach.

The village holds a number of annual tournaments and provides the players with an opportunity to showcase and hone their skills.

Love for the game comes naturally to the people of Mahilpur. For many, it is a family tradition passed on from generation to generation.

The young enthusiasts feel there is a lot of scope for football in India, with so many clubs opening up, which provide the players with an excellent opportunity to further their careers.
"There is good scope for football here which give good money to the players. If one pursues football with studies, it could be very beneficial," said Amandeep Singh, a budding Football Player.

There are now plans of setting up a football stadium in the village so as to provide the youth with better facilities.

The sport has become quite popular in the country and with the advent of international football clubs in India like JCT, there is a good scope for sports enthusiasts wanting to pursue football. (ANI)

Indian U-16 football team register a massive win

Huttington, US, Jul 13 (UNI) The Indian Under-16 football team won their third consecutive match by thumbing Elite Camp All Stars 5-1 here. The Indian team is currently on an exposure and training trip in the US.Malswam Fela scored a brace while the other scorers were Reagan, Lalrindika and Prem Kumarm in a one sided encounter yesterday.Losing team Elite All Camp Stars fielded some of the best high school players in various states against the India. Though the margin of win was big, but it was a tough game for the Indians.India will now play Tri-State All-Stars at the Schoenbaum Stadium in Charleston in their next match.

Baichung to play with Ballack

NEW DELHI, July 12 : Indian football icon Baichung Bhutia is all set for a memorable experience of playing under the captaincy of either Michael Ballack or Clearance Seedorf in the ‘Goal 4 Africa’ charity match in Munich. Baichung will rub shoulders with a host of international stars at the Allianz Arena, the Bayern Munich ground, in the unique event aimed at raising 90 million Euros for the African children. “Ballack and Seedorf (Goal 4 Africa ambassador) will be the two captains, but I won’t be able to tell Baichung will play under whom,” Marion Beishuizen, a top official of the event organisers, told PTI from Munich. Chelsea striker Didier Drogba, Liverpool’s England midfielder Steven Gerrard, Barcelona’s Samuel Eto’o and Italian World Cup winner Gennaro Gattuso are set to play in the match inspired by Nobel laureate Nelson Mandela’s dream of “Education for all — all for education”. ‘Goal 4 Africa Foundation’ had also listed Kaka, Ronaldo, Gianluigi Buffon, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Emanuel Adebayor, Robin van Persie, Paolo Maldini, Andrea Shevchenko and Michael Essien among the international stars to play the match, but Marion said the final line-up will be known in the hour before the match, which starts 8 pm local time. “The confirmation of who would play or who would not will be known one hour before the match because most of the players are now flying in to Munich. But Kaka has withdrawn from the match due to personal reasons,” Marion said.

India to play GD Gafanha in their 2nd Portugal tour match

India to play GD Gafanha in their 2nd Portugal tour match

PTI

NEW DELHI, July 9: Indian football team will play against GD Gafanha, a first division side in the AF Aveiro League, in their second match of the 12-day training-cum-exposure tour of Portugal on Thursday. The game, to be played at Estadio da Gafanha at Gafanha da Nazare in Aveiro region of the Iberian country, will be visiting team captain Baichung Bhutia's last match of the tour. Baichung leaves for Munich in Germany on Friday to play in the 'Goal 4 Africa' charity match where he will rub shoulders with international stars like Kaka, Didier Drogba and Steven Gerrard to raise fund for African children. The Indian team had beaten Gouveia Select 2-0 in their first match on July 5 at Gouveia.