In the recently concluded SAFF soccer tournament for South Asian countries held this time in Katmandu, Nepal, on 11th of this month, the war devastated country Afghanistan in the final defeated India by 2 – 0 goals. For a small country Afghanistan devastated by wars and internal turmoil compared to big country India, it was not a small victory.
In Afghanistan the survival of human beings is in danger if an Afghani does not toe the line of the warlords. There is no freedom there for doing any activity. Even to play soccer in the open field or in the stadium it is risky because of the Talebans who plant bombs everywhere to kill even civilians.
Football stadiums are known for public hangings by the Talebans during their rule a few years back thus creating fear of such stadiums. Yet Afghanis created a history by overcoming all the hurdles came on their way finally to win the South Asia’s glittering soccer crown.
Because of poverty and fear of their life, Afghani young footballers are playing suppressive soccer in their land. In the absence of sophisticated football grounds, Afghanis play soccer even in the fields and rough terrain grounds; because of poverty, they play and practice even on bare feet without shoes.
In their football fields there are fewer footballs but more Bombs and yet they play better football than the mighty country India where there are sophisticated stadiums, huge amount of money for the promotion of this game including services of foreign hired coaches while Afghanistan lacks these facilities.
Inspite of so many deficiencies compared to India, Afghanistan is higher than India in FIFA ratings which says Afganistan is 6 rungs above India.
Even though Afghanistan is backward having much smaller history of soccer, only about one hundred years compared to India’s long history, half the number of their national team members are playing in Germany and USA though not in A division but B while not a single Indian footballer is fit to play even in the third division team of England; being the best player in India, Baichung Bhuttia failed and for that matter he failed miserably for a novitiate period in the third division in England.
Afghanis are very sturdy people capable to withstand any climatic condition besides they are patriotic to their country. Though they face difficulty in promoting their soccer yet their government is very supportive of their soccer and soccer players while the Indian government and officials are not.
When Afghanistan won the final by humiliating India, their president Kharzai immediately sent a cable to their team in Katmandu congratulating the team members. Would our Sardarji and Mukerji bother to act thus if India had to win? Never.
Moreover, one Afghani MP on behalf of the government has promised to gift highly sophisticated apartment to each of the members of the Afghani soccer team. Would any of the Indian MP’s acts similarly? Never.
For this reason not only in soccer but in all other sports besides Cricket, India is very backward and it will remain there only unless there is a total overhaul in our sports administrators and their archaic system.
Indian apex Sports Body is plagued by the greed for power and illicit money by the “Chor” Kalmadis who want to overrule the World Sports Body which is impossible. Kalmadis and other such rascals have no patriotism for India, for them priority should go for their interest only and not for the country’s. For them India comes second while they first because they have no love for India and such disgraceful and anti-national people are ruling India. For this reason India is suffering from all evils and will suffer till eternity.
I feel hurt that as a Goan who was forcibly converted into Indian citizen by Bharat, is a part of this rotten India where all the rotten citizens of India are blindly accepting the rotten leaders and rotten system of India.
While concluding, I congratulate Afghanistan and shower abundant praises on them for their victory against India. May they have more and more such victories.
A. Veronica Fernandes,
Kuwait.