The 90s were heady days for football in Kerala. The decade started with Kerala Police winning the Federation Cup twice, saw the emergence of stalwarts like IM Vijayan, Jo Paul Anchery and VP Sathyan and ended with FC Kochin on top of the Indian football pyramid. Then came the turn of the millennium and Kerala slipped, banished from Eden to footballing insignificance.
The three-region axis - Kerala, Kolkata and Goa was where football truly thrived - now became a two-state affair. Sixteen years later, Kerala is yet to recover. A look at the 2016 I-League table will reveal nothing out of the ordinary, at least in the context of the last three years.
Bengaluru FC top the pile, their second triumph in three years. The two Kolkata giants - Mohun Bagan and East Bengal - were in contention for most of the season. However, conspicuous by their absence yet again in the title mix are the Goan clubs. Sporting began the season looking like a mid-table club and are ending it the same way.
Salgaocar can count themselves lucky if they are not relegated.
It’s a startling fall for a region that had a stranglehold over the I-League trophy for its first six years. Two of the three clubs that won the title during that period - Churchill Brothers and Dempo - are not even in the top flight any more. This year’s I-League had only two Goan clubs - the lowest number since its previous incarnation, the National Football League, started in 1997.
“Even I’m a bit surprised,” says Shabbir Ali, who should know a thing or two about sport in the region. It was under Ali’s stewardship that Salgaocar won the national title in 1999, the first time a Goan club scaled the summit of Indian football. “Usually they run things so professionally. But over the last few years, the results have not been coming.”
“This has nothing to do with the state of the sport in Goa,” says Jason Monserrate, secretary of the Goan Football Federation. “This year’s I-League had 40 players from the state playing for various clubs, second only to Mizoram. We finished third in the Santosh Trophy. The national team has a number of Goans. So Goa still remains one of the most prominent regions in Indian football.” At the same time, he believes the whole I-League-ISL confusion plaguing Indian football right now has forced some owners to hesitate before investing in their clubs, a phenomenon which has affected Goan clubs, Churchill being a case in point.
The owners of the 2013 champions were one of the most vocal opponents when plans for the ISL were first announced. Since dropping out of the I-League in 2014, Churchill have not even bothered to participate in the second division I-League.
“There is a lot of confusion in Indian football right now and many clubs feel the AIFF does not have a proper road-map,” says Monserrate. “So naturally, a lot of them have opted to focus their resources on academies. Many Goan clubs are doing well in youth development, tying up with international names and I believe this is good for Indian football.”
For all we know, the trend could reverse itself in a matter of months. Dempo’s performances in the second division I-League - currently halfway through - could still see them rise back to the top tier next year. But while they are most certainly not out, there is no disputing that Goan clubs are down.