Beyond The Goal

FIFA President Gianni  Infantino.   So, someone who’s allegedly linked to a 'cricket' corruption can also pick a national 'football' coach? The day I posted it on my FB timeline, there were few likes from some journalists, ex-footballers and football lovers. The recent juggling of the various AIFF committees and sub-committees may force us to rethink if PP and Co. are really serious about the sport in India after they officially included its marketing partners in important decision-making bodies. It’s also rare for commercial partners or sponsors to be given decision-making roles in national sports federations, but why AIFF has allotted the spaces to some including one, who was allegedly involved in cricket’s IPL corruption in 2013, is anybody’s guess. I had an interesting chat on the topic with one of the senior journalists, who had covered more cricket than football. He defended AIFF and blasted the top Calcutta clubs for having killed the ga...

Amalraj introduces Mohammad Akbar, Surajit Sengupta and Moidul Islam to legendary actor Dilip Kumar during a Rovers Cup match in Bombay in 1980. Credit: Amalraj My late dad was my encyclopedia on Calcutta football. “Look at this player. Jersey No.14. He’s Amalraj. John’s brother,” he used to tell me whenever Victor Amalraj popped up on the TV screen during the Doordarshan years when the channel beamed the Derby live across the drawing rooms of several families in Bengal. But I always wondered why Amalraj had that brooding and a serious expression as a player. In fact, I’ve not seen his smiling faces in any of the photographs from the 70s and 80s magazines. Yet, he was an effective midfielder who possessed excellent passing and shooting skills. He also had the knack of being at the right spot at the right time, a quality liked by his coaches and team-mates at Mohun Bagan, East Bengal, Mohammedan Sporting and Indian national team. I met him for the first time duri...