The football fans of India are eagerly waiting to see the superstars of world football to play for the I- League clubs. The football star of Argentina, Ariel Ortega, who represented his country in World Cup 1994, 1998 and 2002, is expected to join Dempo. It is reported that the iconic player is demanding Rs. 1 crore 80 lakh for a season along with 20% revenue from merchandizing. However, the concept of merchandizing is yet to be implemented effectively in Indian football and the soccer clubs of this country hardly earn any revenue from it. Apart from Ortega, Dempo is also trying to recruit Christian Vieri of Italy. Kingfisher East Bengal, another I- League club, has made an attempt to sign Nuno Gomes of Portugal, but could not succeed. They are now looking for the players from African region who represented their countries in football World Cup.
The efforts of these clubs to recruit the football legends of yesteryears should be appreciated as it may improve the quality of football in India. At the same time, it will provide an opportunity to the Indian fans to watch these legends playing for the I-League clubs. It may play an instrumental role in enhancing the popularity of football in this country.
There is another side of this story which should be considered with equal importance. It has been observed that, in the last season, a number of I- League clubs have allocated more than 95% of their income on player’s expenditures. A club in the top division of I- League has spent more than 100% of its income on player’s expenditures. These clubs hardly make any attempt to reach at least the stage of break-even by exploring various sources of revenue. It should be remembered that revenue generation is extremely important for the long term survival of a club.
The All India Football Federation has defined the Strategic Direction of I- League before its inception. One of the objectives of this League is to make the national team stronger which cannot be achieved without the introduction of an effective youth developmental programme. The responsibilities of the clubs, in this regard, cannot be ignored. The football fans of the country may expect that the clubs will undertake youth developmental activities for the overall development of Indian football. It may also be expected that the clubs will allocate funds for the development of football infrastructure to initiate a change in India football.
