From gaming FIFA or PES on screen, to playing on the ground with my friends, football has been a part of me ever since I started to kick a ball. I’m not an avid follower of the premier leagues, but my favourite club is Liverpool FC, my favourite player being Steven Gerrard. Cheering for clubs and players of other countries, often made me think, how wonderful it would be to actually cheer for a club in India. Of course there are clubs like Bengaluru FC, Mumbai Tigers FC, Delhi United FC, Sporting Clube de Goa, etc., that belong to other football leagues in India. But they are not that popular and some people aren’t even aware that these football teams exist. They could not create an impact on football like that of IPL on cricket. In fact, football was not even as famous as hockey in India.
This was the story before 2014, before Indian Super League, popularly known as ISL, stepped into the field. An excellent initiative by Mrs. Nita Ambani with the undeterred support of HERO Motocorp, ISL was an immediate hit among the football fans of India. ISL was the 4th most watched football league in the world in 2014. That’s not just it; ISL became the 3rd most watched league in the year 2015. That surely is a ‘WOW’ factor.
ISL brought in 8 teams namely Chennaiyin FC, Kerala blasters FC, FC Goa, Mumbai City FC, Pune City FC, Delhi Dynamos FC, Atletico de Kolkata FC and North East United FC. Every match of ISL was filled in by the fans irrespective of who they supported for, because for many, it was the first time they were witnessing a ‘live’ football match in a stadium. I was one of them. I was pretty much excited as my friends who joined me for the first match in Chennai on 21st October, 2014 (Chennaiyin FC vs. Kerala Blasters FC; Result 2-1; Cheers CFC :D)
ISL has made a big difference, not only to the hungry fans but also majorly for the players. It gave them an opportunity to play alongside world class players like Elano Blumer, Del Piero, Nesta, Helder Postiga, Luis Garcia, Riise etc., and be trained by outstanding football legends like Roberto Carlos, Marco Materazzi, Zico, Nicolas Anelka, etc. Such exposure was vital for our Indian players who thrive to qualify for the FIFA world cup every time. Recently, in the SAFF tournament 2015, India beat Sri Lanka by 2 goals, both scored by Robin Singh, a talented striker of Delhi Dynamos FC. India put up an enormous battle led by Robin Singh, Jeje Lalpekhlua and Sunil Chhetri in the front, forcing Sri Lanka to be the defensive team throughout the match. Later, India thrashed Nepal 4-1, to enter the semi finals. Mumbai City FC player Rowlin Borges registered the first goal to equalize the goal scored by Nepal in the 3rd minute. Early in the second half, Sunil Chhetri (Mumbai City FC) put us on the lead. The sensation of the evening was Lallianzuala Chhangte (age 18) who became the youngest ever player to score for India, breaking the record held by Baichung Bhutia. He sent the ball to the back of the net twice and confirming our place in the semi finals of the SAFF Suzuki Cup. Holicharan Narzary and Sanju Pradhan (both from NorthEast United FC) played crucial roles in assisting and creating a lot of goal-scoring opportunities. I would say that the effect of ISL could be seen during these matches.
Rome wasn’t built in one day. So it might take four to five seasons of ISL to strengthen the necessary skills. But, as fans, we should continue to provide the same ‘enthusiastic’ support and keep cheering for our players. ISL version 3.0 in 2016, is bound to come back to score the hat-trick, bigger than before, with more energy from the players and a lot more to offer for the exuberant football fanatics.
This was the story before 2014, before Indian Super League, popularly known as ISL, stepped into the field. An excellent initiative by Mrs. Nita Ambani with the undeterred support of HERO Motocorp, ISL was an immediate hit among the football fans of India. ISL was the 4th most watched football league in the world in 2014. That’s not just it; ISL became the 3rd most watched league in the year 2015. That surely is a ‘WOW’ factor.
ISL brought in 8 teams namely Chennaiyin FC, Kerala blasters FC, FC Goa, Mumbai City FC, Pune City FC, Delhi Dynamos FC, Atletico de Kolkata FC and North East United FC. Every match of ISL was filled in by the fans irrespective of who they supported for, because for many, it was the first time they were witnessing a ‘live’ football match in a stadium. I was one of them. I was pretty much excited as my friends who joined me for the first match in Chennai on 21st October, 2014 (Chennaiyin FC vs. Kerala Blasters FC; Result 2-1; Cheers CFC :D)
ISL has made a big difference, not only to the hungry fans but also majorly for the players. It gave them an opportunity to play alongside world class players like Elano Blumer, Del Piero, Nesta, Helder Postiga, Luis Garcia, Riise etc., and be trained by outstanding football legends like Roberto Carlos, Marco Materazzi, Zico, Nicolas Anelka, etc. Such exposure was vital for our Indian players who thrive to qualify for the FIFA world cup every time. Recently, in the SAFF tournament 2015, India beat Sri Lanka by 2 goals, both scored by Robin Singh, a talented striker of Delhi Dynamos FC. India put up an enormous battle led by Robin Singh, Jeje Lalpekhlua and Sunil Chhetri in the front, forcing Sri Lanka to be the defensive team throughout the match. Later, India thrashed Nepal 4-1, to enter the semi finals. Mumbai City FC player Rowlin Borges registered the first goal to equalize the goal scored by Nepal in the 3rd minute. Early in the second half, Sunil Chhetri (Mumbai City FC) put us on the lead. The sensation of the evening was Lallianzuala Chhangte (age 18) who became the youngest ever player to score for India, breaking the record held by Baichung Bhutia. He sent the ball to the back of the net twice and confirming our place in the semi finals of the SAFF Suzuki Cup. Holicharan Narzary and Sanju Pradhan (both from NorthEast United FC) played crucial roles in assisting and creating a lot of goal-scoring opportunities. I would say that the effect of ISL could be seen during these matches.
Rome wasn’t built in one day. So it might take four to five seasons of ISL to strengthen the necessary skills. But, as fans, we should continue to provide the same ‘enthusiastic’ support and keep cheering for our players. ISL version 3.0 in 2016, is bound to come back to score the hat-trick, bigger than before, with more energy from the players and a lot more to offer for the exuberant football fanatics.
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