145;Convert Santosh into NFL146;

IT could be dismissed as another hopelessly optimistic cross from the wing were it not for the fact that it was met, and controlled, by a ve...

IT could be dismissed as another hopelessly optimistic cross from the wing were it not for the fact that it was met, and controlled, by a very senior official. The Santosh Trophy, says veteran coach Syed Nayeemuddin, should be converted into the National Football League. It8217;s an idea, says All-India Football Federation secretary Alberto Colaco, that 8216;8216;can8217;t be discarded, must be considered8217;8217;.

Nayeem8217;s rationale is simple: increase participation and improve local talent. The newly appointed coach of Mahindra United explains his theory: 8216;8216;A national league should be a national meet. The NFL right now is essentially between two states, Bengal and Goa. The best way to involve the whole country is to create five zones, have playoffs and pick the two top teams from each zone and have a home-and-away competition between these 10 teams. That should replace the current NFL.8217;8217;

So what will the clubs 8212; with their increasing quota of foreigners 8212; do? 8216;8216;The clubs will play all the other tournaments through the year8217;8217;, says Nayeem. 8216;8216;The foreigners can play there. Local talent has to be tapped.8217;8217;

The simplistic theory is, of course, riddled with flaws. One being the fact that FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation who pushed the AIFF into introducing the NFL in 1996-97 before it was really prepared have always given preference to club-based national leagues. And used their funding as the carrot for such leagues to be set up.

A possibility not lost on Colaco. 8216;8216;That the AFC/FIFA angle is something we have in mind8217;8217;, he told The Sunday Express. 8216;8216;But there are bigger problems. What will happen to the players? The logistics? What about our calendar? What happens to the clubs? It8217;s a sensible idea but we can8217;t take a decision without solving all that.8217;8217;

The most obvious question is, who8217;ll show Indian football the money? Big money came into Indian football only after the NFL was introduced. Will the corporates continue to finance Indian football if the format is changed?

Former India forward Bikash Panji, currently East Bengal8217;s assistant coach, dismisses Nayeem8217;s idea on those very grounds. 8216;8216;This won8217;t be difficult, I think it8217;ll be impossible.8217;8217;

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While Colaco says that the question of finances is topmost on their agenda if the option is to be explored, a senior current Indian footballer says he 8212; and presumably others like him 8212; would consider not playing the NFL and concentrate on club competitions if money becomes an issue.

Nayeem8217;s plan is aimed primarily at the north-east states, which have no club structure but do well in the Santosh Trophy. Panji8217;s counter to that: 8216;8216;Players from those areas still get a chance with clubs from Bengal and Goa. And just to bring in all the states, we don8217;t need to change the structure followed across the world8217;8217;.

The ball is now with Colaco and the AIFF. Will they shoot to score or pass it back?