Will Messi magic transform Kerala football?

While football fans are thrilled about Kerala Sports Minister’s announcement of the Argentina football team playing in the State, many point out that other sports should be treated with the same enthusiasm

The red carpet has been rolled out. Late next year World Cup champion Argentina will be playing two football friendlies in Kerala. And that magician Lionel Messi could also be there.

The Kerala government is bringing Argentina, one of the planet’s most-loved teams, and Sports Minister V. Abdurahiman is at the forefront to whip up some magic in the football-crazy State. And Jo Paul Ancheri, one of the game’s greats, is thrilled. 

“I’m very excited that Argentina is coming. And if Messi comes, watching him play will be a huge motivation, especially for young kids,” said the former India captain. “It will inspire more kids to take up football.” 

Thomas Paul, a teen footballer and an ardent Kerala Blasters fan, is equally excited. “It was Messi who made me love watching football. I was around five or six when it all began,” said the Global Public School student.

But the 17-year-old, a regular at Kerala Blasters’ ISL games, added a note of caution. He feels Kochi’s Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, the first-choice venue for the friendlies, is a shaky structure.

“I think it’s not a good idea for Argentina to come here because the infrastructure is terrible. When you go to the Nehru stadium, the cement keeps coming down every time fans jump during ISL matches.”

The cost of bringing Argentina and its opponent, most likely an Asian country in FIFA’s top 50 world rankings, will be around ₹100 crore, which the Sports Minister said will come through sponsorship from Kerala’s business community. 

While football fans are thrilled, many seasoned sports stars and officials are questioning the government’s priorities.

“Everybody loves football in Kerala, but other sports should be given importance too,” Olympian Shiny Wilson told The Hindu from Chennai.

“There seems to be no money for the [government’s] sports hostel children, no reservations on trains when they travel for national championships. I think the money could be used to better their lives,” said the former Asian 800m and relay star. 

P.I. Babu, Athletics Federation of India’s joint secretary, feels the Sports Minister has a responsibility to other sports too.

“The Sports Minister is a Minister for all sports, the interest and enthusiasm that is shown for football should be shown in other sports too,” said Mr. Babu, also a former Kerala Athletics Association secretary.

“Athletics and badminton are the two sports which bring Asian and international medals to Kerala consistently. But now, the State Athletics Association does not have funds to send teams for nationals because the government has not released funds [towards TA and DA of athletes and coaches] for the last two years. The pending amount in athletics is around ₹35 lakh. The situation is the same in other sports too,” he said.

Kerala, which has produced greats like P.T. Usha, Anju Bobby George and Shiny, did not have a single female athlete in the last two Olympics and the poor infrastructure in many parts of the State is being seen by some as a reason for the slide.

The plight of the State government-funded sports hostels is another sad story. 

“Athletes are granted ₹250 as food allowance per day [₹7,500 a month], but the government sends that money months later; we got last year’s funds after one year this June,” said an official who runs a government-aided academy in central Kerala.

“Even that is not enough. It should be raised to ₹350 because we offer quality food, including eggs and meat.”

Kerala’s former badminton international Vimal Kumar feels a lot could be done with the ₹100 crore budgeted for Argentina’s tour.

“That’s a lot of money. If you have the money, you can do that, but a similar drive should be shown in raising funds for developing other sports too,” said the former national champion and coach from Bengaluru.

“So many things can be done, you can have a good athletics track and swimming pool in every district in Kerala and these are fundamental things that are required for an athlete to come up.” 

“I’m not against football but when government machinery is involved, the priority should be to improve overall infrastructure.” 

Some football officials are wondering how Argentina’s friendlies would help Kerala. 

“It can create an aura. But I don’t know how much the real football here will gain. The amount of money that is going to be spent is huge. One tenth of that, if it is spent on Kerala, can bring in a lot of other results,” said a leading football official. 

“We need to strengthen our grassroots-level initiatives. There are a lot of seven and nine-a-side grounds which we should probably be able to push to 11-a-side if the government helps. If it [Argentina’s tour] is a part of a bigger plan, then it is okay. Otherwise, how can it contribute?” 

Meanwhile, Mr. Abdurahiman declined to comment on the developments.

Published - November 27, 2024 07:31 pm IST