Wim era ends as Palestine defeats India

India, Palestine, Football, Soccer, FIFA, Friendly, October, West Bengal, Kanchenjunga, Siliguri, InternationalPalestine, the 2014 AFC Challenge Cup Champions beat India 3-2 in a friendly match that was played at the  Kanchenjunga stadium in Siliguri, on Monday evening. India were leading the match 2-1 at the half time.

India conceded as early as the 8th minute in the match. However Sunil Chhetri and Francis Fernandes scored apiece in the first half as India finished on top. The second half saw Palestine strongly coming back into the match and scoring two goals. Eventually India had to settle with a defeat in the friendly.

As yet another international friendly went by without telecast, fans were very vocal on social media about their displeasure.

Notable was also the complete silence from the ISL media team and the social media channels of ISL teams. Completely oblivious about the match, social media channels of ISL teams went about sharing totally irrelevant content. While this is not a big surprise for us, ISL which claims to take Indian football to another level omitting the national team’s friendly certainly does not bode well for the sport in India. All India Football Federation’s social media channels that used to be very active recently was also missing in action today.

This friendly against Palestine also marked the end of the Dutch coach Wim Koeverman’s stint as the national team’s manager. In the post match presentation ceremony Wim Koevermans confirmed that he is going to step down.

“This was my last match as the coach of the national team and I will not be taking up the post of AIFF’s Technical Director for private reasons,” said the Dutch coach.

German Coach for Indian National Team?

Germany, Football, DFB, FA, India, U-17, FIFA World Cup, Wim Koevermans, Asian Games, National Team, Technical Director, Markus WeidnerAccording to a report in Hindustan times, AIFF has sought help from DFB (German national football federation) to share knowledge in areas such as coach education and player’s development. The German FA is willing to help India as well.

Markus Weidner, the head of coach education and international relations, DFB is quoted in Hindustan times, “The AIFF recently asked us to share our knowledge, especially within the technical fields such as coach education, players’ development, etc. The DFB (German national football federation) is willing to assist the AIFF,”.

For AIFF, the priority is to find a coach for the India U-17 team which will taking part in the 2017 World Cup taking place in India. The article also reports that AIFF will seek help from DFB for replacing the current national team coach Wim Koevermans, whose contract expires on October 31.
Earlier media reports suggested that Wim Koevermans will be appointed as the Technical Director of national team once Rob Baan’s stint ends by Dec 31. This article speculates that there would be a change in this plan after India’s pathetic show at the Asian Games.

8 Channels, 5 languages – Hero Indian Super League’s ambitious broadcast plan

ISL, Indian Super League, Player Draft, Soccer, League, India, Football, France, Czech Republic, Spain, France, Czech Republic, Brazil, Portugal, Colombia , South Korea , Argentina, Canada, Serbia, Senegal, Burkina Faso, England, Greece , Cameroon,The Hero Indian Super League (ISL) will be the first sporting event in the country to be backed by a never-before seen, ubiquitous broadcast platform plan, with the potential to reach around 85 per cent of India’s television audience. This ambitious plan is expected to herald an unparalleled reach for any content, in the history of Indian television.

In a pursuit to enthrall football purists as well as generate mass fan-following for Indian football, the ISL will be telecast LIVE on a range of Star India’s sports, movie and regional channels – a first in the history of broadcast in India.

Spanning over eight channels in the sports and general entertainment category across five languages, the Hero Indian Super League will be televised on Star Sports 2 (English), Star Sports 3 (Hindi), Star Sports HD 2 (English), Star Gold (Hindi), Star Utsav (Hindi), Asianet Movies (Malayalam), Jalsha Movies (Bengali) and Suvarna Plus (Kannada). Further more, live streaming will be available on www.starsports.com.

“We believe in the potential of football as a sport that cuts across culture, race, religion and economic might. The Hero Indian Super League heralds the Birth of India as a Footballing Nation and as the leading sports broadcasting network in India, we plan to take the viewer experience to the next level. In order to take the game of football closer to its fans, we are providing a never-seen before plan, leveraging the strength of sports, entertainment, regional and multi-screen. The magnitude of what we are setting out to do has never been attempted.” said Mr. Sanjay Gupta, COO, STAR India

Hero Indian Super League is scheduled to kick off from 12th October 2014, featuring eight clubs. There will be 56 league matches followed by two home-and-away semifinals, with the final on 20th December 2014.

The Hero Indian Super League’s official TV campaign – a panoramic 100-second film – launched earlier on 7th September. The first TVC sparked the start of the League’s lead up to a 36-day, 360 degree marketing campaign, bringing alive the hopes of over a billion people to live their dream of building a footballing nation.

Squad for Palestine friendlies announced

India, Palestine, Football, Soccer, FIFA, Friendly, October, West Bengal, Kanchenjunga, Siliguri, InternationalWim Koevermans has announced a squad of 20 for the upcoming friendlies with AFC Challenge Cup Champions Palestine. Both the matches will take place at the Kanchenjunga Stadium in Siliguri, West Bengal on October 6 and 9 respectively.

FIFA Ranks  : India – 158, Palestine : 102 [As of Sep 2014]

Palestine football team recently had a setback in their preparations for the upcoming Asian Cup when their coach Jamal Mahmoud resigned citing personal reasons.

Pritam Kotwal of Mohun Bagan is the sole debutant in the 20 member team. Lalkamal Bhowmick, the Mohun Bagan midfielder and Pune FC’s Arata Izumi will make a comeback to the national team.

Squad :

GOALKEEPERS: Subrata Paul, Karanjit Singh, Amrinder Singh.

DEFENDERS: Denzil Franco, Pritam Kotal, Arnab Mondal, Raju Gaikwad, Sandesh Jhinghan, Aiborlang Khongjee, Narayan Das.

MIDFIELDERS: Mehtab Hossain, Lenny Rodrigues, Arata Izumi, Lalkamal Bhowmick, Francis Fernandes, Clifford Miranda, Victorino Fernandes.

FORWARDS: Sunil Chhetri, Robin Singh, Balwant Singh.

STANDBYES: Shilton Paul, Arindam Bhattacharya, Rowilson Rodrigues, Gabriel Fernandes, Seminlen Doungel, Siam Hanghal, Lalrindika Ralte, Thongkhosem Haokip.

AIFF tying up with Brazilian club, Atletico Paranaense

Atletico Paranaense, Brazil, India, AIFF, FIFA, U-17, World Cup, 2017, AIFF, Kushal Das, BrazilAccording a PTI report, All India Football Federation is tying up the with Brazilian club, Atletico Paranaense keeping in mind the 2017 Under-17 World Cup that is slated to take place in the country.

Kushal Das, General Secretary, AIFF was quoted as saying  “To give exposure to the players, AIFF is tying up with Brazilian team, for an exchange program of the U-17 team,”

The other points that has got a mention in the report are FIFA’s visit to India in November to inspect stadiums for 2017 U-17 World cup,  the viability of football as a profession and the need for state associations being agile for the development at grass root level. Kerala and Mizoram were picked out and mentioned by  the General Secretary on the last aspect.

Apart from the usual backing up of ISL from the federation, Kushal Das has mentioned the importance of connecting to the fans through regional languages. Star Sports will be broadcasting the new league in 5 languages – Hindi, English, Bengali, Malayalam and Kannada.

Santosh Trophy also gets a surprise mention. Apparently there are plans to telecast Santosh Trophy matches as well.

Read the report here.

Asian Games 2014 : Men’s Football Schedule

After all the uncertainty, Indian Football team will start their 2014 Asian Games 2014 sojourn on September 15th, when they take on a formidable opposition in UAE.  India is grouped along UAE and Jordan in Group G and their matches take place at the Hwaseong Stadium and the Incheon Munhak Stadium. Two teams will qualify to the round 16 from the group.

India, Football, Asian Games, 2014,  UAE, Jordan,  Group G, Indianfootball, Mens, Incheon

Indian Football team may miss out on Asian Games 2014

Asian Games, Football, India, Indianfootball, team, south koreaReports are surfacing that the Indian football team may miss out on participating in the upcoming Incheon Asian games 2014. With Indian Olympic Association submitting a bumper list of 900 people including athletes and officials, to the sports ministry for approval for travelling to the Sept. 19-Oct. 4 Games in the South Korean city of Incheon, sports ministry would be forced to prune the list.  

Lacklustre performance against Pakistan in the recently friendlies have also not helped the team’s chances. SAI director Jiji Thomson was in attendance at the Bangalore stadium when the Indian team comprising  mainly under-23 players took on the Pakistan team.  

Jiji Thomoson was quoted in Times of India saying  :

“I am a football fan and I was present at the match. I can only say that the performance was very disappointing,”

If the team is not cleared by the ministry, All India Football Federation would be forced to pay from their pockets to send the team for Asian games 2014. In an article in The Telegraph a senior official is quoted that the government will not bear the cost of the men’s and women’s football teams in the Asian Games 2014.

“A final decision would only be taken after a week, but there is every chance the government would not bear the cost of the men’s and women’s football teams in the Asian Games. Of course, the AIFF (All India Football Federation) can send the team on their own,” 

However this is not the first time that the football team is being forced out of Asian Games by government. In 1990 and 1994 the government had stopped the football team from going for the Asian Games.

Delhi Dynamos starts grassroots initiative

Delhi, Delhi Dynamos, ISL, Indian Super League, IMG, Reliance, IMG-Reliance, Football, India, Indianfootball, Den Networks, sameer manchandaIn line with its philosophy of creating a difference in the sphere of sports, especially Soccer. Delhi Dynamos Football Club today announced the launch of a novel initiative to take football to the grassroots by tying up with schools of National Capital Region of Delhi. This initiative is of utmost importance to Delhi Dynamos, as it will help identify, nurture and train talent. It will also provide the necessary   platform to the talented young children across Delhi/NCR & the North region. Under this programme, Delhi Dynamos will organize training camps and inter-school tournaments and create opportunities for the young generation. The campaign will kick start with the first ever Junior Dynamos Inter-School Championship, a 7-a-side football tournament, to be played in 4 zones of Delhi/NCR across 3 different age categories (U12, U14 & U17).

Delhi Dynamos FC, Founded and developed by DEN Soccer Pvt. Ltd. (a wholly owned subsidiary of DEN Networks Ltd.), will compete in the Indian Super League (ISL) for top honors against other clubs from India.

LtoR StepbyStep VS DPSThe first leg of the junior championship will be played from 19th-22nd August at Jaypee Sports Complex, Greater Noida and Ajanta Public School, Gurgaon. It will feature the top schools from East Delhi, Noida, Greater Noida and Gurgaon. A week later, action will shift to DDA Sports Complex, Vasant Kunj & Ganga International School as the young prodigies from schools of Central, South, North & West Delhi will showcase their football skills. The Zonal Champions of the Junior Dynamos Inter-School Championship would then get the opportunity to play at the Jawahar Lal Nehru Stadium training ground as they face each other in a knockout format to seize the ultimate crown – The Junior Dynamos School Champion.

While these players will attack and defend on the field, the Junior Dynamos Scouts will constantly analyze their performance to select the best 100 players (U14 & U17) to be trained under the Junior Dynamos Coaches for the next 2-months on full scholarship. These young players will then play in the Junior Dynamos Elite League at JLN Stadium training ground during ISL match days.

Based on the performance, Scouts would then select the top 30 players (U14) who would form the Delhi Dynamos Youth Team. The chosen stars will undergo a 6-month long training program under the Junior Dynamos Coaches on full scholarship. These players will represent Delhi Dynamos in Youth Leagues across India. Scouting exercise will also continue for the U17 FIFA World Cup 2017 – India Dream Team.

Junior Dynamos City Championship

With a mission to identify talented players and train them using international methods, the Club will also organise the Junior Dynamos Inter-School City Championship at Chandigarh, Dehradun, Jaipur & Kanpur in North India. These inter-school championships will be played in the months of September, October and November 2014.

Junior Dynamos Train the Trainers Program

The success of a footballer’s career depends on the quality of coaching imparted by his gurus. Delhi, Delhi Dynamos, ISL, Indian Super League, IMG, Reliance, IMG-Reliance, Football, India, Indianfootball, Den Networks, sameer manchanda, grassrootsWith an aim to create the next generation of specialized football coaches and equip them with all necessary tools to produce top quality players, the Club has put in motion the Junior Dynamos Train The Trainers initiative. Under this exclusive program, the Junior Dynamos Coaches will conduct a series of 2-day workshops for over 100 P.E. Teachers in Delhi & NCR throughout the year.

Commenting on the Junior Dynamos program, Mr Piyush Goyal, Head new Initiatives-DEN Networks & Director-DEN Soccer, said: “Aligning with schools is the best way to identify and promote talent and football is no exception. We are kick starting this elaborate campaign across NCR and four other cities in the very first edition of ISL .We have seen the passion for Football growing by leaps and bounds. There is raw talent & energy in the youngsters and we are here to channelize this energy. I am confident that with guidance from top notch coaches, and our commitment, these players will surely make a mark at various levels including international tournaments.”

Pakistan defeats India – How it panned out on Twitter

Pakistan football team put up a great show in Bangalore to defeat a shambolic Indian side. India did not have an answer for the two goals Pakistan scored and looked totally lost in most parts of the match.

We went about doing this match review a bit differently. Here we took a look how the match was played out on twitter.

 

Dutch Coach for Delhi Dynamos?

As we reported earlier,

The Delhi franchise of the upcoming Indian Super League, Delhi Dynamos was unveiled today.  They unveiled the team name, the team philosophy, anthem and the Delhi Dynamos’ alliance with Feyenoord Rotterdam at an event held at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, the home stadium of the Dynamos. There was no announcements regarding the coach or players.Delhi, Delhi Dynamos, ISL, Indian Super League, IMG, Reliance, IMG-Reliance, Football, India, Indianfootball, Den Networks,  sameer manchanda

Harm van Veldhoven, Delhi, Delhi Dynamos, ISL, Indian Super League, IMG, Reliance, IMG-Reliance, Football, India, IndianfootballNow the Dutch media is abuzz that Harm van Veldhoven a Dutch-Belgian coach whose last stint was with KV Mechelen, a team in the top tier Belgian league. Earlier Danish media had reported that forwards Morten Skoubo & Mads Junker will be joining the Delhi ISL franchise. Harm van Veldhoven was associated with these players during their stints with Roda and Mechelen

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