Hyderabad: With less than three days to go for the FIFA World Cup in Brazil, football fever has gripped the city and fans have plans to make the most of the month-long carnival.
But what does the World Cup actually mean for the game in the city? G.P. Palguna, secretary, Andhra Pradesh Football Association (APFA), feels the timing of the World Cup is a blessing in disguise for the APFA, which is just beginning to revive competitive football in the state: “We’re going to start the ‘C’ Division football league from June 10 and we expect a lot of interest from spectators.
It was in early 2000’s that the APFA hit a roadblock after a struggle for power between two rival factions. Since then, the development of the sport in the state, and in the city, took a nose dive. However, things seem to be looking up.
The Indian Super League and the growing interest in the various football leagues among fans in the country and in the city bode well for football. According to former India captain Victor Amalraj: “Back in my playing days, we used to play against the best teams in the world. We had played against Argentina, Uruguay and Poland. Because we played against such teams, we developed very good skills.
There still is a lot of passion for football, especially in Hyderabad. But the infrastructure needs to be developed to harness that passion into talent. Now that the World Cup is here, I expect the interest in the game to grow manifold.
There is more money being pumped into the game, with the ISL looking to take it to greater heights in the country.” Shastri Soccer Club founder S. Tony recently observed how the spectator interest has also gone up in local football matches. “We had organised an inter-summer camp football tournament and the response has been tremendous. Not just from the players, but also from the spectators here.”
Yahiya Hussain, an APFA Class I referee, says he was struck by how even kids are crazy about football, diving into the game head first. He cites various examples of how the sport has a growing fan base in the city. Yahiya says, “I had recently officiated at a few seven-a-side tournaments. I saw even kids display great interest in the sport. Every morning, at least 40 kids can be seen practising football at the Gymkhana grounds and Trimulgherry. The craze for football is greater among the current generation. They know almost every piece of trivia about various players and clubs.”
