AIFF general secretary Kushal Das is living in a fool’s paradise – Sporting Clube de Goa

AIFF, Sporting Clube De Goa, Football, Indian Football, Goa, I-league, SCG, Flaming Oranje

Sporting Clube De Goa

The pull-out of Salgaocar FC and Sporting Clube de Goa should have been a wake-up call for the AIFF to at least now set its messy house in order but instead the federation, and its ignorant general secretary, have resorted to unnecessarily pointing the accusing finger at us. In an interview to a news agency and other media channels, Das said “FC Bardez have a bigger fan following than these clubs. I have seen them in the Goa Pro League.”

Kushal Das is really cut-off from the reality. To say that a four-month old club has more fan following than us is ridiculous and a huge insult to the contribution of clubs like Salgaocar FC and Sporting Clube de Goa, who have contributed immensely to the development of Indian football.

We wonder how many matches Kushal Das watched in Goa and how many I-League matches he has attended since becoming secretary?

For the ignorant Kushal Das’s knowledge, until some years ago, both clubs attracted massive crowd wherever it played. The Nehru Stadium, Fatorda, saw big attendances but since Praful Patel took over as president and Kushal Das was appointed secretary, the numbers have dwindled. Indian football’s slump is also reflected in the poor rankings and much of this is due to mismanagement by the AIFF.

The AIFF cannot blame the Goan clubs to hide its own inefficiency.

Indian football is at its lowest ebb and an ill-informed secretary doesn’t help its cause.

Kushal Das must remember that he is a paid employee of the AIFF. We have not made a living out of football but instead helped others make a living through football. It is clear that Kushal Das, who is occupying a wrong chair, has no clue about football in India and his comments reflect the deplorable state of AIFF at the moment.

Kushal Das is an embarrassment for Indian football. He must apologise for his comments which are shocking and uncalled for.

Mr. Victor G Fernandes
CEO.
SPORTING CLUBE DE GOA

Airtel I-league Round 7 Fixtures and Results

Airtel I-league, TenAction

 

Airtel I-league enters the 7th round. Six matches including the first away match for Bengaluru FC is in offering. Catch the fixtures and Telecast details of these matches here. Also watch out for the results that will pop in here!

[match id=44 match=1]

Date : 26th Oct, Telecast : TenAction, 2.30 pm

[match id=45 match=1]

Date : 26th Oct, Telecast : No, 3.30 pm

[match id=46 match=1]

Date : 27th Oct, Telecast : No, 2.00 pm

[match id=47 match=1]

Date : 27th Oct, Telecast : No, 3.45 pm

[match id=48 match=1]

Date : 27th Oct, Telecast : No, 7.00 pm

[match id=49 match=1]

Date : 28th Oct, Telecast : No, 4.30 pm

 

I-league Round-2 Fixtures and Telecast details

I-League_logo.svgThis weekend I-league will move to its 2nd round. Here are the fixtures and telecast details.

Round-2 Fixtures

Date

Home

Away

Kick-off

Telecast

28-Sep-13

Churchill Brothers

 Mohun Bagan A.C

3:30 PM

Ten Action

29-Sep-13

United Sports Club

Sporting Clube de Goa

3:00 PM

29-Sep-13

Shillong Lajong FC

Pune FC

3:30 PM

29-Sep-13

Bengaluru FC

Rangdajied United FC

4:00 PM

Ten Action

29-Sep-13

Mumbai FC

Dempo Sports Club

4:00 PM

Quality foreigners dot I-league this season

Image Courtesy : http://i-league.org

Image Courtesy : http://i-league.org

Many say I-league has lost its sheen, it is not a viable package and so on. While all the criticism lingers on and some of them being true,  it has to be said that this season’s I-league has attracted a formidable array of foreign imports.

Some years ago, foreign players mostly came from Africa and then on, some from Brazil. But were they good enough for the salary they were being paid here?  I am unsure about that aspect. However, clubs have moved on from their traditional hunting grounds in Africa and Brazil and is recruiting decent players from Australia, Europe, Middle East and Asia now.

This season’s I-league has a former world cup player,  some players who plied their trade in EPL and lower division English leagues and some from Spain and Portugal.  Quality attracts eye-balls too.  For instance, Bengaluru FC has recruited Ashley Westwood as their coach. He started his career as a Manchester United academy player and went on to don coaching roles at Portsmouth, Blackpool and Blackburn. His pedigree certainly helped in getting  sky-sports interested about his Indian assignment at Bengaluru FC.  Skysports reporting about an I-league coach would  have been unthinkable a few years ago.

While there has been passing remarks in the media about the foreigners in I-league this season, there has been no comprehensive report about them anywhere.  Withstanding the question on how they will help Indian Football develop, as a package I-league does need good foreign imports to raise the quality of football.

Today TOI has taken some time out and has written a decent article about the foreign imports in I-league this season – Influx of quality foreign players on the upswing

Airtel I-league kicks off today

I-League_logo.svgA  brand new season of I-league is here. 13 teams across India will fight it out the premier league of the country. Check the squads of all the participating teams here.

The matches from the opening weekend are as follows :

21-Sep-13 Mohammedan Sporting Club Pune FC 3:00 PM
21-Sep-13 Mumbai FC Sporting Clube de Goa 4:00 PM
21-Sep-13 Churchill Brothers SC Salgaocar FC 4:00 PM
22-Sep-13 United Sports Club Rangdajied United FC 2:45 PM
22-Sep-13 Bengaluru FC McDowell Mohun Bagan A.C 4:00 PM
22-Sep-13 Dempo Sports Club Shillong Lajong FC 4:00 PM