02-27-2004, 04:18 PM
Soccer seduces cricket-crazy India
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->"There's a real sea change," says Bill Adams, a British football coach who runs one of dozens of new academies which are springing up all over India.
Indian football is largely confined to two geographic areas: the eastern state of West Bengal, centred on the city of Calcutta, and Goa on the Arabian Sea coast.
India's captain and star, Baichung Bhutia, says the key to future success is more support at grass roots level.
Leicester City from the English Premiership has just signed a deal with Bhutia's team East Bengal, to tap into a potential player market.
"Success at the national level is fine", he says, "but [in the] long term it needs better marketing and better training from junior level right the way up the game". <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Next Olympic Qualifier: V/s Oman at Cochin.
<!--emo&:ind--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/india.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='india.gif' /><!--endemo-->
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->"There's a real sea change," says Bill Adams, a British football coach who runs one of dozens of new academies which are springing up all over India.
Indian football is largely confined to two geographic areas: the eastern state of West Bengal, centred on the city of Calcutta, and Goa on the Arabian Sea coast.
India's captain and star, Baichung Bhutia, says the key to future success is more support at grass roots level.
Leicester City from the English Premiership has just signed a deal with Bhutia's team East Bengal, to tap into a potential player market.
"Success at the national level is fine", he says, "but [in the] long term it needs better marketing and better training from junior level right the way up the game". <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Next Olympic Qualifier: V/s Oman at Cochin.
<!--emo&:ind--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/india.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='india.gif' /><!--endemo-->