The most beautiful game is a simple expression on the field to stay united and achieve your goal. Welcome to the fascinating world of football as a bunch of motivated youth seeks recognition in a fiercely competitive pool at the FIFA under-17 World Cup. Traffic snarls around the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium should remind the citizens of the Capital of the magnitude of the spectacle in their city which is not really acknowledged to celebrate sporting events. India makes its debut in a football tournament only because it happens to be the host. Navi Mumbai, busy with Sion-Panvel highway got the much needed face lift and the DY Patil Stadium is gearing up for the FIFA U-17 Football World cup.
Unlike one day cricket, football provide thrill every minute and that is why it is a popular game and attracts more crowd as well. But just like cricket, football is a team game where performance is the name of the game. The blockbuster begins and Indian football’s moment of glory and reckoning is here. India is all set to make FIFA World Cup debut against USA and it will be a thriller all the way. Amarjit Singh is leading a bunch of youngsters and it will be a big attraction with football lovers being glued to the television set to watch the action live.
It obviously heralds a new era and the expectations can be unrealistically high. A win or draw against the United States, Ghana or Colombia, Team India would be contending with and should be hailed as a feat. Nothing, however, would match the experience and the lessons the Indian lads would imbibe at such a big stage. For stalwarts of yesteryear, who toiled to make an impact at the Asian level, the sight of India playing against some of the best in a World Cup should be thrilling. For a nation that does not even send a football team to the Asian Games, this is an opportunity to build dreams upon. To fructify the hopes that this could be a watershed moment for Indian football, the team will have to produce some scintillating stuff.
The FIFA, in its bid to expand the game to new frontiers, allotted the U-17 World Cup to India in the year 2013. For a country which has the largest number of youth. It is quite apt to host the youngest World Cup in the Indian sub-continent. The short passes and marking the key players of the opposition proved vital and the Indian team can achieve their long waiting dream come true.
The victory went to the team that played the best football, scored the most goals and eliminated the Champions of the World. It was indeed a Soccer Extravaganza. But for Indian television viewers will be getting the timing of their choice to watch matches this time instead of seeing them at odd hours.
FIFA U-17 World Cup kicks off on October 6 after years of preparations boiling down to the kick of the ball in Navi Mumbai and New Delhi at the same time. Later, two more games will be played at these venues to round off day one and to properly assess country’s preparations and how the action unfolded on the pitch including that of the hosts.
(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
