The Footballer with Sunny Sahota
Welcome back to the BCFA’s column which outlines the proactive work that we are carrying out in The West Midlands and Warwickshire to increase the number of Asians into the game and highlight the Asian community’s participation in football at all levels players, coaches, volunteers, fans and referees.
In this edition I will travel across the seas to mark the successes in India of the new I-League. As we seek to get more Asians into the game in this country it is fantastic too see that India is doing the same.
The new Indian Professional Football League nicknamed the I – League, sponsored by The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation kicked off this season to replace the National Football League which lasted 11 years. The set up of the I-League is a huge step forward in Indian football and the league has positively began to revamp the club football system in the country by raising the profile of football.
The league officially kicked off in November 2007 and has received a big welcome from the country who have embraced the game. Primarily cricket has been the number one sport in the country but with the revamped I –League it is hoped that football will become one of the leading sports in the country too which will have a knock on effect and get more people involved in the game. According to the All Indian Football Federation President Priyaranjan Damusi, football already pulls more crowds in West Bengal than cricket which shows that the popularity of the sport is riding high.
The new I-League consists of 2 divisions with the 1st division composing of 10 teams from 5 different cities. Currently Dempo Sports Club – Goa is riding high at the top of the table and enjoying a prosperous run of wins losing just once, who are closely followed by JCT Phagwara and Churchill Brothers SC – Goa who have the leading goal scorer within the league Odafe Okolie, banging in 17 goals.
For further information on the league please visit http://www.indianfootball.com/
In further news the BCFA are giving you the opportunity to win an exclusive limited edition KIO designer T-Shirt by Paul Smith. The T-Shirt has been designed by the innovative cutting edge designer to help raise funds for the PFA’s One Goal One Million campaign. This well designed, high quality T-Shirt is priced at £30 but the BCFA are offering you t he chance to **WIN ** one.
For your chance to bag the top just answer the following question.
Who is the new England Senior Manager?
Please e-mail your answer to sunny.sahota@birminghamfa.com by March 1st.
