Yesterday, (Wed.) on the BBC TV evening news programme there was a special report from Goa on Indian Football by Adam Mynott, BBC India correspondent. This feature was about four minutes long and had scenes of beachside and village football as well as the Singapore - India World Cup qualifier. Some such reports are video archived on the BBC site. I was hoping to give you the url to the clip but cannot find it.
Today the BBC has published an article based on the programme. ======================================== Source: BBC News, 26 Feb, 2004 at http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/3490154.stm Title: Soccer seduces cricket-crazy India By: Adam Mynott BBC India correspondent Full text: A slow revolution is happening in Indian sport - children are turning to football. Twelve-year-old Raagav, who has joined a soccer training academy at Gurgaon on the outskirts of the capital Delhi, is one of thousands, maybe millions of young Indians who want to play the game and even prefer it now to cricket. "I like cricket, but football is better," he says. "I want to be a professional and I want to play for Manchester United." Every street corner in every village and town in India still resounds to the shouts of young boys playing India's favourite game, cricket. A bare patch of land, a few bricks piled on top of each other as a wicket, a bat and a ball are all that is needed. But now football is starting to lure some away. "There's a real sea change," says Bill Adams, a British football coach who runs one of dozens of new academies which are springing up all over India. "At schools now, kids under 12 prefer to kick a football around rather than play cricket." Indian football is largely confined to two geographic areas: the eastern state of West Bengal, centred on the city of Calcutta, and Goa on the Arabian Sea coast. India launched its World Cup 2006 campaign against Singapore in the Nehru Stadium in Goa. India are ranked 138th in the world table of football nations. Singapore are 107th. Through a penalty mid-way in the second half, India won. Another positive sign, although the Indian coach Stephen Constantine says the team still has a long way to go. India's captain and star, Baichung Bhutia, says the key to future success is more support at grass roots level. "Success at the national level is fine", he says, "but [in the] long term it needs better marketing and better training from junior level right the way up the game". India's next match in the World Cup group is in Cochin in Kerala at the end of March against Oman. Baichung Bhutia is the first Indian footballer to sign with a European club; he spent three years with Bury Football Club in the English Third Division. He says he expects more young Indian footballers to be targeted by foreign clubs. Leicester City from the English Premiership has just signed a deal with Bhutia's team East Bengal, to tap into a potential player market. Bill Adams says there is no doubt the talent is here. "It will take a while to come on stream," he says, "but there are so many young Indians wanting to play that, with the right application, some will definitely make it." That may not happen in time for World Cup 2006 but watch India closely in 2010 and 2014. ==================================== Regarding the defeat of the Singapore team, the Straits Times (Singapore) reported on 22 Feb.: There were bad signs before Singapore's 0-1 World Cup qualifier loss to India in Goa on Wednesday. First, the match announcer introduced the two teams as India and Pakistan. Then, another tune was played instead of the Singapore national anthem. Dirty tricks at work? Time Magazine, 1 March 2004 has: Accusations of match-fixing in Goa has led to the suspension of four clubs. Full text at: http://www.time.com/time/asia/magazine/article/0,13673,501040301-593615,00.html For these and other Goa-related items in the International Press, check the 26 Feb issue of Goan Voice UK at http://www.goanvoice.org.uk/newsletter/2004/issue8/ Cheers, Eddie Fernandes ########################################################################## # Send submissions for Goanet to [EMAIL PROTECTED] # # PLEASE remember to stay on-topic (related to Goa), and avoid top-posts # # More details on Goanet at http://joingoanet.shorturl.com/ # # Please keep your discussion/tone polite, to reflect respect to others # ##########################################################################
