Apathy? Players, coaches upset by I-League matches 2 pm start
The new season of the I-League is set to kick off this Saturday with Ludhiana-based Minerva Punjab FC hosting Mohun Bagan in the opening game of the campaign.
For the first time, the I-League will be running simultaneously alongside the Indian Super League (ISL), with Star Sports, one of the stakeholders of ISL, being the official broadcaster for both the competitions.
While the ISL games have been scheduled on prime time TV slots, a staggering 40% of I-League games have been scheduled for 2 pm kickoffs.
The move has not gone down with the clubs participating in India’s top-flight, and has also come under severe criticism on social media.
Gokulam Kerala FC captain Sushanth Mathew didn’t mince words when asked about the kickoff times.
‘It’s hell! It’s pathetic! At 2 pm, you cannot walk one kilometre under the sun, how can a footballer run around for 90 minutes?” he said on the sidelines of the official launch of the I-League.
With Gokulam playing four of their nine home games at 2 pm, he said the hot and humid conditions in Kozhikode would take a toll on the players. “It will be burning (in Calicut). Players will be tired; their performances will go down and there will be more chances of them picking up injuries,” Mathew fumed.
“AIFF (All India Football Federation) couldn’t do it because of telecasting issues, so we cannot
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do anything about it. Our club is spending so much money on the floodlights but I think just three or four of our home matches will be under them,” he added.
“Whose brain is (at work), I don’t know. (It’s a) very unprofessional brain,” he added .
Mohun Bagan head coach Sanjoy Sen wasn’t impressed by the timings either. “The 2 pm kickoffs are not good for football. If you play at 2 pm in Aizawl, there is no issue for the players, but if you play at 2 pm in Kozhikode, Goa or Coimbatore, then that is a major problem. I think AIFF should consider (changing the timings),” he said. ORGANISATIONAL ISSUES
Sen also lamented the organisational problems caused by the I-League and ISL running simultaneously. “It’s very difficult (to organise both at the same time). For instance, we will be playing our home matches at the Salt Lake Stadium. But East Bengal and ATK will also be playing their home games there. It is very difficult to host games one after the other within two days or three days,” he explained.
“There is still time to adjust some of the matches. I think there are some genuine issues. Now if you don’t know when you are playing your first match, then it is very difficult,” he added.
AIFF General Secretary Kushal Das defended the decision to hold 36 of the 90 matches I-League matches from 2 PM.
“You have to understand that for the first time, I-League is coming on Star TV. It’s a huge achievement. I remember when I had joined the AIFF in 2010, for two years we didn’t have a national broadcaster (for the I-League). It was shown on regional channels. To come from there to the Star platform, it’s a huge achievement. The kickoff times are a little different but Star is a huge platform,” he said.