The young fan was agitated. His father was desperate to lay his hand on a bottle of water. The scramble to be the first to grab whatever was available was understandable but the kid was making a fuss for reason other than drinking water. He did not want to miss actionsince the second half had begun. And India had played a goalless first session with much-fancied Colombia.
For Ankit, nothing comes before football. Nothing. His anxiety gave way to anger and he just dragged his father away to their seat in the grandstand. The Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium was one grand theatre of football as India played out of its skin to make Colombia struggle to score a goal. Football, and not cricket, had held the attention of the sports lovers of the Capital. And not for the first time.
There were thousands of Ankits at the venue hosting the FIFA Under-17 World Cup. For a 12-year-old, Ankit was well informed. “I love to watch football. Not that I don’t like cricket. But football brings me on my feet more than cricket. Football is unlimited excitement. I am praying we beat Colombia.” Much as he must have prayed, India did not win on the field. But off the field India was a big winner, catching the imagination of a young generation which is likely to hook on to this beautiful and truly global game.
The Capital’s football calendar includes a couple of local tournaments and the Indian Super League matches featuring Delhi Dynamos as the home team. The FIFA World Cup was a welcome event for young fans, especially the ones who follow their dreams at various football academies.
Areeb Ahmad, a budding footballer at the Anadi Barua Academy in Noida, was over the moon when he was picked as one of the ball boys at the Nehru Stadium. “I wanted to watch the matches and what better way then being a ball boy,” gushed Areeb, a 10th standard student at Noida’s Cambridge School. I requested them to post me behind the goalkeeper. I am a goalkeeper and was keen to observe from close. I watched their warm-up and training drills and repeated them at the Academy. A pity the Ghana and Colombia players couldn’t speak in English but I enjoyed conversing with them in sign language. The FIFA World Cup will go a long way in creating awareness about football. I will cherish memories from the Cup, especially the thumbs-up response from India goalkeeper (Dheeraj Singh) when I cheered for him,” recounted Areeb.
Different audience
The audience at the Nehru Stadium is different than the one that turns up at the Ferozeshah Kotla for a game of cricket. At the Kotla, even the spectator is a star. It is a fashionable to be seen at a cricket match. He/she can “boast” of his/her presence at the cricket ground where the spectators keep an eye more on the broadcasters’ cameras panning the galleries than action in the middle. Not so at the Nehru Stadium, where the youngsters could pick their heroes even from a distance and back the Indian side with their vociferous and passionate support. True, watching the foreign leagues on television does colour their understanding of the game but they are game when it comes to support their team and come across a knowledgeable bunch. To be able to appreciate a good tackle, or a splitting through pass, speaks for their ability to understand the nuances of the game. They know that their team has little chance to cross the winning line, but they don’t let it impede the stride of their heroes.
For Rashmi, a 14-year-old football fan accompanied by her brother, it was a thrilling experience. With face painted in tricolour and driven by passion to cheer the Indian colts, she was fascinated by the spectacle in front. “This is just amazing. I never knew football can be such a thrilling experience,” she remarked, promising not to miss any football match in the Capital.
Even for the non-India matches the response has been encouraging. “You never know one can end up seeing a future international star. We have seen one in India’s goalkeeper. He has been a huge source of motivation for the team and those who want to take up a career in football,” said Abhishek Das, a staunch supporter of the game.
Encouraging response
Delhi may lack the football culture that marks Kolkata and pockets in Goa and Kerala but the response to the FIFA World Cup raises hopes for the game’s revival. Hordes of football fans from Old City and CR Park join the long queues for every contest and set up cheer brigades in different stands. But they prefer the Ambedkar Stadium to Nehru Stadium.
As Sultan Ahmed, an old timer, observed ahead of the India-Ghana match to be played on Thursday, “The Ambedkar Stadium brings you so close to the action. You can hear their instructions and angry retorts on the field but Nehru Stadium is like watching it from space. The distance between the seats and the playing field is too long for you be part of the match. But the stuff that one has seen so far had been encouraging and it has been a privilege to come and back our team. The boys have done us proud.”
As India completes its schedule of matches at the Nehru Stadium on Thursday, the administrators of the game in the Capital wear smiles on their faces. “The turn out for India’s matches, even if half the audience was orchestrated, has convinced us that the young generation loves football. I am sure a good performance from the national team would bring the crowds back in large numbers to watch football at Ambedkar Stadium,” commented N. K. Bhatia, a veteran administrator.
