Sudeva FC entering the I-League is a breakthrough moment for Delhi football. Ever since the National Football League (NFL) was rechristened as the I-League in 2007, there hasn't been a single team from the national capital. And that is about to change this season.
On Wednesday, Sudeva FC won the bid to get corporate entry into I-League 2020-21, bringing Delhi football back on the map. The club's owner Anuj Gupta knows the importance of this to Delhi football and is looking to live up to it.
"I'm not thinking about just surviving, it's about Delhi, it's also about image. Everyone is going to be looking at us like any new team that comes in, so that pressure is there too," Anuj said in an exclusive conversation with News18.com.
Sudeva FC was in a bidding war with Vishakhapatnam-based Sreenidhi FC and while the club from Delhi got the direct entry this season, Sreenidhi got the nod for the next.
Anuj divulged that he had expected their entry to be confirmed last month itself but the delay did get him worried for a bit.
"On the 30-31st of July in first meeting, I expected us to be confirmed but then they asked for more documents so then I got slightly worried. Today everything went well and we're there and hard work starts," Gupta stated.
Sudeva have an U-13, U-15, U-18, reserve and first team, along with a residential academy setup. For the last three to four years, Sudeva has been working in the bottom bit of the pyramid and Anuj feels the pathway for his boys is now clear.
"I think these graduates who would get into I-League this year, that is where our efforts would have gone in the last 3-4 years.
"In the last few years, we have worked on giving a child a pathway so when he comes in Sudeva academy at the age of 11, then he can see a clear pathway, which is now complete with an I-League club," he said.
Sudeva will be fielding teams in Delhi League senior division, I-League second division and the I-League.
THE I-LEAGUE PLAN
Sudeva FC will be playing in the I-League with an all-Indian contingent. There will be about 12 of Sudeva graduates, a few experienced players from elsewhere in the country and about 10 of university-level footballers.
Assuming that I-League would begin in December, Anuj is looking to have a two-month pre-season with his 30-man squad, starting October. The average age of the I-League squad of the club is 20 with the youngest one being a 16-year-old.
Anuj admitted that having the corporate immunity this season is a safety net for experimentation and that may be one of the reasons why he is going for an all-Indian squad.
However, owning a Spanish third division club CD Olímpic de Xàtiva, Anuj said he could have got Spanish players easily but in the current scenario he doesn't want to get into travelling an visa troubles.
"It is better for me to have a longer pre-season with the 30 boys and focus on their preparation instead of waiting for those foreigners to come and change the whole atmosphere inside."
Anuj said he has already identified some players he wants to have in trials and he will soon call them to stay at Sudeva residential academy at 21, Raj Niwas Marg for 20 days. He is looking at players from Santosh Trophy, university teams and state teams.
"They will undergo the Covid test and be quarantined for five days and after that they will have 15 days for the trials. It depends on how everything opens up but I would like to have at least 4-5 matches, which I think is good enough for me and the coach to decide on the level of the players."
Boosting the University Level:
"If I pick a kid from a university team and he gets a chance to play and perform well, what we are doing is giving them belief that if they perform for their universities, an I-League team might come and scout them. With that, the university level also becomes important."
Currently, the majority of scouting is done from I-League, I-League second division and state tournaments/leagues. However, Anuj feels giving a chance to the university players can be beneficial for the system.
Anuj is looking to apply a model similar to Indian Arrows with the squad comprising of only Indians but with the addition of experience.
"I think single venue format behind closed doors reduces the pressure of playing in a filled stadium. That may play to our advantage.
"We do want to go in the ISL. The plan is to see how we do in the next three years and whenever the leagues are merged, we should have a good team to get promoted.
"I am clear that I want to be in a proper league. The national team players are selected from the top league. The idea is to produce players for the national team," Anuj said.
IMPROVING DELHI FOOTBALL
Anuj said that he is coming up with four to five grounds near the Indira Gandhi International Airport next year for training purposes, along with the plan to rent it out for Delhi leagues and AIFF tournaments.
Anuj divulged that he has already identified the land and had even discussed and if not for the Covid situation, he would have had the ground by now.
For Anuj, the idea behind renting out the grounds for Delhi leagues is to do his bit for local football.
"The Delhi League, which is amateur right now, I want to make it stronger and longer. The bigger problem is we don't have grounds so it goes on for only two months. I want it to be like, you have the ground for five months, make the league that longer.
"Then the only money to get from the sponsors will be for referees and the running of the league. We will definitely want to broadcast the matches too and in digital age, it can be worked out."
Anuj further said that he plans to have a women's team as well by next season.
With the uncertainty around the Indian Women's League (IWL) this season, Sudeva is not looking at a women's team but Anuj is positive that they will be ready by next season.
"I would want the female talent from Delhi NCR to have a club to play for."
Sudeva also plan to open a residential academy and football school in Uttarakhand, which brings into account the altitude training bit. A football school, Anuj believes, is also a sustainable model. Along with Uttarakhand, Sudeva are also looking to set up a residential academy in Kolkata.
Sudeva co-owner Vijay Hakari, in the club's press conference on Thursday, said they have a green academy campus and have even installed air purifiers in air conditioners in order to tackle air pollution in the capital.
Both Anuj and Hakkari clearly stated that next season when they will be able to host matches in Delhi, they will be playing in the Ambedkar stadium because "that is where the atmosphere is".
Comments
0 comment