Nigerian imports can’t get over cricket craze

With Indian football firmly entrenched in Kolkata and Mumbai, Jammu and Kashmir appears to be an unlikely choice for professional footballers, and Ibrahim admits it is a stop-gap arrangement.

“I was playing for Vasco in Goa last year, then I went back home, and Martins told me to try this out.

“Football in Jammu and Kashmir is growing only now, you cannot compare it to other states in India. Their team is doing well in the Santosh trophy, and many are coming to watch,” says Ibrahim.

“The main problem is that Indian football players are not keen on playing outside the country. Talent without exposure is nothing,” he says.

Seeking greener pastures

Martins, who played for Air India in Mumbai for two years before arriving in Srinagar last May, feels he fits in well with the simple Srinagar life, but greener football pastures are not far from the 25-year-old’s mind.

“I don’t know where I’ll be playing after my contract ends this year, but my target is Europe or the UK,” he says.

“Indian football will take time. In my country, people breathe football. It’s like cricket in India. Here, you see people playing cricket anywhere they find a bit of space, in alleys, on roads. In Nigeria, football is just like that. We play, play, play all day and night. We train ourselves, so to speak,” says Martins.

Ibrahim and Martins may have grown up playing with Premiership imports jay Jay Okocha and Kanu, but their own international careers are far from dazzling. All they have managed are a few appearances with the under-21 and under-23 sides, but they know their chances of being given an international cap are a hundredfold once they step out of Nigeria. “Players are noticed much more when playing abroad,” says Martins.

Even though they have stayed in India for a few months now, the craze for cricket is something they can’t fathom.

“I don’t understand the game, but people go mad every time there’s a match. I try to watch, but all I can do is stare at the television,” Ibrahim says with a laugh.