The Hindu : Sport / Football : We lack the infrastructure, says Bhutia

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We lack the infrastructure, says Bhutia

KOLKATA: Indian captain Baichung Bhutia feels the football infrastructure in the country is going backwards even though the standard of the sport has improved.

“The standard of the game has gone up ever since the National Football League (now I-league) was launched in 1996,” Bhutia said at a function here. “The I-League showed how stiff the competition is nowadays, but the factor that is hindering the growth of the sport is the absence of proper infrastructure.”

Bhutia, who is also the president of the Football Players Association of India, said one of the biggest indicators of poor infrastructure is the poor ground condition.

“The ground condition is not improving. If you look at the first National League and now, the infrastructure has gone backwards. We really need to work on that,” he said.

Bhutia said his club Mohun Bagan has had a satisfying season. The runner-up finish in the I-League was the only sore point, but that did not diminish the fact that Bagan was the most successful team this season.

“The season was very good for us. We were the team which won the maximum number of titles this season,” Bhutia said, referring to the three titles — Calcutta Football League, Federation Cup and Super Cup — Bagan won this season. — Principal Correspondent

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