HT Kick Off: We can work it out

So successfully woven was the narration of a dystopian futurity that even out the assure of normal serve felt like a win. But as everyone waits for the Supreme Court's decision on Monday on the proposal to start the season, it feels like a lot of time has been wasted. Time that could have been utilised for pre-season training — which, in turn, would have helped Khalid Jamil ahead of the CAFA Nations Cup beginning on Friday — and planning for the regular season.

“Most of these things should have been sorted out a lot earlier,” Gurpreet Singh Sandhu said looking visibly displeased during our interview ahead of India’s first match of the new season in Hisor, near Dushanbe. From the time he was taken to the 2011 Asian Cup as a stripling full of promise, Sandhu has seen enough of football to form an opinion and credit to him for saying it like he sees it.

Credit also to All India Football Federation (AIFF) and its commercial partner Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL) for singing from the same hymn sheet. After a lull following rejection of each other’s proposals, “we can work it out,” has become the theme of things. There is, of course, the threat of sanctions from FIFA and Asian Football Confederation (AFC) but given that the matter of the AIFF constitution has stayed unresolved for eight years when the original deadline to sort things out was eight weeks, you can hardly blame the world and Asian body for not showing patience.

Football continuing while others things get resolved is how it should be. That was the message from AIFF president Kalyan Chaubey when he met 11 ISL clubs earlier in the month. That the meeting was a first was a lesson in how not to run a league. Telling clubs that the future could be bleak in June when they had bought players and extended contracts was another. “Why didn’t we have this conversation in April as soon as AIFF and FSDL’s lawyers felt that negotiations should stop following the Supreme Court observation to not take any major decision,” an ISL club official told me.

But this is a chance to reset, a chance to improve on a competition that despite severe impediments has grown from zero to one that has sent two teams to Asian Champions League 2.

A chance to reset it is for India too, looking for their first win in a competitive match since November 2023. We need to find a way to win matches, said Sandhu. That should be our target in Tajikistan not just being here for the experience, he said. The players know they are not at their best in terms of fitness, he said, and that makes the mental aspect more important in this tournament. That is the message the seniors are trying to pass on to the others, he said. Read the interview here.

Jamil struck the right notes when he was introduced to the media. “Let us go step by step. The matches (in the CAFA Nations Cup) will give us an idea of where we need to improve and will help us in the next three qualifiers (of the 2027 Asian Cup),” he said. It is an improvement from having to clarify why Sunil Chhetri was not in the squad one day after it became obvious that he was conspicuous by his absence.

How will India play? We will know for sure on Friday but expect a low block, long balls and wingers being used to try and hit on the break.

Jamil will need to build a relationship with ISL coaches and starting off by confronting Mohun Bagan Super Giant — or calling them over on September 1 when the window begins even if it meant playing only the match — would not have sent the right message. Especially when he could need them to release players ahead of the next FIFA window for India’s matches against Singapore (October 9 and 14). AIFF and FSDL have shown they can work it out, can Jamil and ISL coaches do that too? For, with Asian Cup qualification on the line, there really is no time for “fussin’ and fighting.”

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