| | | Finally, it feels like a World Cup year Al Rihla has been launched and hours after this lands in your inbox, the draw will be held. The wait has got longer this time but finally, you get the feeling that this is the year of the World Cup. One that is unique in several ways: the November 21 kick-off means it is the first in winter; the first in west Asia; the first where all games will be within a 55km radius from Doha and the last of the 32-team format.  (This handout picture made available by FIFA on March 30, 2022 shows Al Rihla, the official match ball for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.) It is one where Jorginho, James Rodrigues, Alexis Sanchez and Mo Salah won't be playing but Robert Lewandowski, Cristiano Ronaldo will as will Toko Ekambi. One where the draw at Doha Exhibition & Convention Center will be done without knowing all the 32 finalists. Blame that on Covid-19 and Russia invading Ukraine. Scotland's game against Ukraine has been deferred to June as has the inter-continental playoffs so three of the finalists will not be known yet. During the international break from March 20 to 30, the rest of the berths got filled. Qatar have been seeded first by virtue of being hosts and that means they will not have in their group Brazil, Belgium, France, Argentina, England, Spain and Portugal who are the remaining top seven seeds. In the World Cup, teams from the same continent can't be together unless they are from Europe which has 13 of the 31 qualifying slots. That means while Qatar and Saudi Arabia won't face each other in the group league stage, Germany and France might. Murmurs of discontent over Qatar persist 233 days from kick-off but already 800,000 tickets have been sold, a significant number of them to Indians. When ticket sales opened in January, the seventh highest demand came from India. Among the top 10 countries seeking tickets, only India are not in contention for a World Cup berth. | | Leaking goals The defeats in the recent friendlies in Bahrain were a pointer to how far India need to travel to be in contention even when the World Cup expands to 48 teams in 2026. Conceding late goals in both games, against Bahrain and Belarus made the defeats look worse and led to a fair amount of criticism but, frankly, expecting anything else is unrealistic till India fixes internal issues. Topping the agenda is the brevity of the season. The Indian season is very short, said Ishfaq Ahmed. Our conversation happened before the ISL final and Ahmed, Kerala Blasters' assistant-coach, was making the point about how difficult it is for a coach to get the team to play his way in that short a time. Miracles happen, it nearly did with Kerala Blasters, but you wouldn't call them miracles if they happened regularly, he said.  Different faiths, same goal: Ruivah Hormipam, Manvir Singh and VP Suhair (from left) before India's friendly against Belarus in Bahrain (Source: Shreyasi Dey / Twitter) Till India plays only 20 league games at the highest level, the national team won't improve. It's that simple, really. You don't get better by not playing enough. That is why Indian players were ball watching for Bahrain's goals and failed to match Belarus' intensity after a goalless first half during which they tried playing out from the back and managed to keep a higher ranked team at bay. Head coach Igor Stimac's comment that India were tired in the last 10 minutes against Bahrain too stems from not playing more. ISL clubs contract players till May 31 but barring teams in Asian competitions, the season ends in March. And just like schools being closed to combat Covid-19 has set back the literacy levels of millions of Indians children by years, not being able to hold youth competitions for two seasons, not giving India's under-16, under-19 and under-23 teams enough games will lead to a further dip in our standards. Also, because Indian leagues are not close to the level of international games, the only way the national team can punch above its weight is by holding long preparatory camps. That it is a demand constant from when Stephen Constantine first took charge in 2002 to Stimac shows that the more things change, they more they remain the same. That is the difference between India and, say Canada. Like India, the league structure in Canada is developing and it has only three teams in USA's Major League Soccer. But the country's multi-cultural population, being more welcoming of migrants, and a stronger culture of football can compensate for the lack of a strong league. It is the same with Australia. Stimac will get to conduct a long camp from late April and that is one of the reasons why he is confident of sealing a 2023 Asian Cup qualifying berth. In her column for HT on why India couldn't make the women's World Cup semi-finals, former India cricketer Snehal Pradhan spoke of the need to have system. India's football too needs systems where focus should be on getting the national team to play as often as possible and, to that end, looking outside Fifa windows if needed. Also, India needs a six-month ISL followed by a cup competition. That way the season can begin in August and run till May. These and being among the 24 teams that qualify for the Asian Cup should be India's priorities. | | Play of the Week  (Click to expand) | | Welcome back, Ada She's back, after nearly five years. With a message, "Heia Norge, long time no see," prolific striker Ada Hegerberg said she would be available for Norway again. Hegerberg, winner of the first Ballon d' Or, had stopped pulling on the country's shirt because she felt Norway was not doing enough to support the team and grow the women's game. New federation president Lise Klaveness, who has played with Hegerberg, has got the 26-year-old striker, who made her international debut when she was 16, to change her mind. | | | They said It While other clubs only play for three-four months, Mohammedan Sporting plays for nine months. Clubs who want to promote football should take a leaf out of their book and start playing as many tournaments as possible  | Former India cricketer Irfan Pathan on the current I-League leaders whose season began with the Kolkata league, a competition ATK Mohun Bagan and SC East Bengal chose to skip, last August. | | | Were you forwarded this email? Did you stumble upon it online? 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