Mohd Najeeb axed to accomodate official

NEW DELHI, JULY 20: With utter shock and disbelief, Mahindra United striker Mohammad Najeeb left for Mumbai on Tuesday afternoon. It was a...

NEW DELHI, JULY 20: With utter shock and disbelief, Mahindra United striker Mohammad Najeeb left for Mumbai on Tuesday afternoon. It was almost certain that Najeeb would make the trip to England with the Indian football team who left early this morning but the promising striker’s tour was cut short at the eleventh hour in order to accomodate’ five All India Football Federation (AIFF) officials. Three state association secretaries, a media director and an observer formed the nucleus of the jumbo squad.

It must have been a frustrating experience for the Kannur-born striker, who was intimated about his ouster from the England-bound team a few hours before the squad left. Goalkeeper Vikrant Sharma of Delhi’s Hindustan Club was the other player to be left out of the squad.

Najeeb’s goal-scoring spree earlier this year during the National Football League shot him into the limelight the Keralite scored eight goals to become the third highest scorer in the country’s premier football tournament.

Following his success with Mahindra United, the lethal striker played a key role in guiding his adopted state Maharashtra to the Santosh Trophy crown in April. Najeeb was the top scorer in the tournament with nine goals; and more importantly, goal number nine fetched Maharashtra the match-winner and the title in the final, ironically against his home state, Kerala.

Yet he was ignored. Perhaps, merit alone doesn’t hold much importance for the mandarins who rule Indian football. If this is really an “exposure trip,” (it has been referred to as such time and again), it really makes no sense to keep out Najeeb and Vikrant from the squad. The team’s think-tank and the AIFF did not offer any reasons for their decision, but the activity behind the scenes is quite clear to all. The AIFF’s election campaign has obviously gotten underway and if players make way for officials, then it’s part of the game.

Yet, the question is, while the tour will provide much-needed exposure for Indian footballers, who rarely get the opportunity to travel abroad, but what sort of exposure’ will these officials’ be gaining from the tour?As most of these dedicated’ officials seem to have a one-point agenda keeping themselves in office Indian football is definitely heading towards the inevitable: a natural death.