Kushal Das: Without FSDL, don't know what would have happened to Indian football

The General Secretary of the AIFF talked on a host of topics including the chance to feature in the Champions League from 2021.

All India Football Federation General Secretary Kushal Das has been at the forefront of re-structuring Indian football and creating a sustainable model. Das has been at the Federation for a long time and when quizzed about FSDL's contribution to Indian football he was quick to acknowledge the ISL's governing body's work.

"I think tremendous! Without FSDL coming in, I don't know what would have happened to Indian football. There were no takers after Zee left. The federation would have had to curtail the activities drastically. Also, the way they have helped in re-structuring our own events is a very important value addition," Kushal Das said in AIFF TV's live session on Youtube.

"The launch of the Indian Super League has changed the landscape of Indian football. I think the way things are going on now in the top-level football competition in India, it is 100 times better than it was in 2010-11 because there are so many more clubs, lot more youth development activities, lot of youth leagues and so on. I think FSDL played a significant part in building our structure," he went on to add.

https://youtu.be/H8j-DiQGpsA

Indian football has put a tremendous amount of work into youth development in the last few years. Speaking about the challenges of promoting the new structure, Das revealed how it was difficult to convince clubs at that time about youth development and it's importance in the overall growth of football in the country.

"It was definitely tough. I would like to thank my team who worked with me very closely and helped in this re-structuring. It was tough to engage with people and to convince them of the necessity of youth development. The concept was pretty much absent in India, even with the big clubs. So, to convince them to participate and invest money in the youth league was a challenge. I think we are doing good now, but I would like to put more leagues in the future."

FC Goa will be the first team from India to play in the AFC Champions League group stages. It is the first time that the AFC have granted India a Champions League spot and Das gave an insight into how the federation made it happen. "The AFC were considering to expand the Asian Champions League as well as the AFC Cup and it was also in their minds. We had discussions from time-to-time and emphasized the importance of the growth of football in all these countries.

"Playing the Champions League for the first time is a great opportunity and all the Indian clubs should focus on this and try and make a mark. We should try and get out of the group stages and then in 2-3 years we should be around the semifinals or so."

In the recent past, India has seen a surge in licensed coaches and coach education has been a very important aspect. Das feels that the Coach Education Convection has made India self-sufficient in planning courses.

"One of the good things that has happened is the Coach Education Convection, which has been implemented by our head of coaching (Savio Medeira). Earlier we were dependent on the AFC to send instructors, but now there are opportunities for us to conduct courses.

"We have been working on a project which has been shelved for the current pandemic situation, where we were planning to send 10-12 young Indian coaches outside India like Bibiano (Fernandes), Venkatesh (Shanmugan) and so on to countries like Germany or the Netherlands with whom we have an MOU."

"We want to improve coach education and we would like to have as many courses as we can, but we also need to think about employment. I think a lot of new clubs and academies will come up. In a few years, we aim to see an Indian coach leading the national team," he revealed.

When quizzed about working with AIFF President Praful Patel, Kushal Das was full of praise. But, he also mentioned how there is a sense of trust between him and Patel. "It has been a pleasure working with him. He is a very busy man, so it is very unrealistic to give so much time to football. I can say that at least once a week we discuss about the progress. He has given me a free hand and at the same time, he ensures that I don't misuse it. "

One of AIFF's biggest plans is to establish the AIFF Centre of Excellence in Kolkata, West Bengal. When asked about the progress of the facility, Das elaborated on the difficulties that they have had to face during the heavy monsoon and the pandemic situation in the City of Joy.

"We were always thinking of making a Centre of Excellence. But, after the U-17 World Cup, we thought it was the right time to setup a big Centre of Excellence and after the euphoria of the final of the U-17 World Cup and the participation of the crowd, we approached the honourable CM of West Bengal and it took 10 minutes to convince her and give us the land at Rajarhat."

"We have been very unfortunately since then, as there was a severe monsoon in Kolkata and when we started the work again, the pandemic happened followed by Cyclone Amphan. So, work has slowed down quite a bit. We were beginning to start again, but it has been named as a containment zone so it is a big setback for us. Some parts will be ready in December and the whole thing may take another year," Kushal Das concluded.

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