| Reasons to thank under-17 World Cups in India When India beat Hong Kong 4-0 to qualify for the 2023 Asian Cup finals, it was Anwar Ali’s early strike that set the tone on a wet evening in Kolkata. The team also had Suresh Wangjam and Jeakson Singh in central midfield. That’s three in the starting line-up who were part of the India under-17 World Cup squad in 2017. If forwards Raheem Ali and Rahul KP were fit, they would have been a shoo-in given how highly head coach Igor Stimac speaks of them. Maybe a sixth too, in midfielder Lalengmawia Ralte. Ali is a ball playing defender comfortable shooting with both feet; Singh can play in midfield and with more experience, possibly as centre-back too. Suresh is comfortable on the ball and mature beyond his years. All of them used the U17 World Cup, where India exited in the group stage, to launch their careers. “The experience was not about the three matches. Rather it was about the preparation leading to it, which was unprecedented. We played international matches, international tournaments, friendly matches against top clubs who were exceptionally strong,” Suresh said in an interview to HT in 2021. “It made us understand that international football even at that age was played at such a rapid pace, a lesson which the entire U-17 World Cup batch carries with it.” Many positives Five years after the World Cup that showed Phil Foden, Emile Smith-Rowe, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Jadon Sancho to the world, 17 of the 21 who represented India play in the country’s top league. Add to that the spike in interest because India were hosting the World Cup: it was the most watched under-17 men’s event ever with nearly 13.50 lakh attending games including 63,881 who turned up in Kolkata on 48 hours’ notice after the Brazil-England semi-final had to be shifted from Guwahati. The national training centre coming up in Kolkata too is a product of the under-17 World Cup; the land being given gratis by the West Bengal government.  Former Indian football team captain Baichung Bhutia (Source: PTI) Yet it was forcefully argued in the Supreme Court that the under-17 World Cup in 2017 had yielded nearly nothing. Among those making that point was Bhaichung Bhutia whose contribution to football was rightly likened to that of Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin Tendulkar in cricket by the Union government. Bhutia, speaking through his lawyer, said the hosting rights of the U17 women’s World Cup could be sacrificed for reforms that give players greater agency. Role models Once denied by Covid-19, the under-17 women’s World Cup is a chance for players to experience what Suresh and his mates did. In Dangmei Grace, Manisha Kalyan, Bala Devi and Aditi Chauhan, they have role models who have played or are playing in more developed leagues in Europe and Asia. If this event leads to a spike in the number of girls playing football – the explosion in interest in England after the European championships is a case in point – it could have more players migrating to stronger leagues. That could benefit India’s senior women’s team which is ranked 58th in the world. The event comes as ISL franchises start building women’s teams. Kerala Blasters, FC Goa, Bengaluru FC (under-15) and Odisha FC have already done that and in time Gokulam Kerala FC, the team to beat in the women’s game now which makes a case for everyone responsible for them missing the AFC Women’s Club Championships to be barred from football, could have competition. The event comes amid Asia’s renewed commitment to the women’s game. It is because of the event that the Indian government successfully pleaded with the Supreme Court to remove third party interference. That in turn has led to the possibility of a footballer heading the sport. There are many reasons to be thankful to under-17 World Cups in India. |
| IN OTHER NEWS  Liverpool's Luis Diaz, right, is fouled by Manchester United's Raphael Varane during the match (Source: AP) Rashford’s back: There are many reasons for Manchester United to be thankful to Marcus Rashford too. And to Erik ten Hag who listened to one part of Wayne Rooney’s advice (don’t start Cristiano Ronaldo) and ignored the other (leave Rashford out too). On display at Old Trafford on Monday night was a player who could seamlessly adjust as wide left to accommodate Anthony Martial after starting as the centre-forward. This wasn’t the tentative Rashford who lost form after the Euros but a player who had the most shots and made the most sprints. A player who, along with Jadon Sancho and Anthony Elanga, gave Manchester United the energy they lacked in the first two games. A player who calmly finished for the winning goal after Martial put him through. And Ronaldo?: Erik ten Hag, who ran 13.8km with the team (it was a punishment the manager didn’t exempt himself from after stats showed that Brentford had run that much more in their 4-0 win against United), is sure he can use CR7. “We have a squad and we have a way of playing, a style and a game plan. You look at what is the best approach to the game. Today it was those players, Saturday it could be different,” he said. New signing Casemiro, recruited from Real Madrid, epitomises that can-do spirit and Ten Hag wants to see the same from Ronaldo. "I don't have to mention Harry Maguire and Ronaldo, they are amazing players and they will play a role in the future, the short (term) future as well.” Andries Jonker new coach: Andries Jonker, 59, succeeded Mark Parsons as coach of the Netherlands women's team. Under Parsons, the Netherlands, who went into the Euros 2022 as defending champions, were knocked out in the quarterfinals. Jonker, a former coach of Bundesliga team Wolfsburg and assistant to Louis van Gaal when the Dutchman coached Barcelona and Bayern Munich, signed a contract through to the 2025 European Championship, the Dutch soccer federation said. Palmieri joins West Ham: Italy left back Emerson Palmieri joined West Ham on a four-year deal from Chelsea for a reported fee of $17.75 million. Palmieri, part of the Euro winning squad, spent four-and-a-half years at Chelsea but was never a regular. He was loaned to Lyon last season. West Ham have lost their first three Premier League games and are in last place, their worst start to a domestic season in 51 years. Jill Scott retires: England midfielder Jill Scott announced her retirement, the second member of the Euro 2022-winning team to do so. The 35-year-old Scott's decision comes after Ellen White said she was retiring. Both Scott and White played in the final of the Women's European Championship on July 31, when England beat Germany 2-1 after extra time. Scott, a former Manchester City player, made her England debut in 2006 and had 161 international appearances scoring 27 goals. Cancer recurrence: Ann-Katrin Berger has suffered a recurrence of thyroid cancer, the Chelsea women and Germany goalkeeper said having been in remission for four years. Berger, 31, was first diagnosed in 2017, when she made a full recovery within four months. “I am working closely with my club doctor and specialist in London and my treatment will start this week,” Berger said in a statement. “I remain positive that my treatment will be as effective as last time and I'm looking forward to returning to the pitch and seeing you all at Kingsmeadow and Stamford Bridge.” Berger was a member of the Chelsea squad that won the last three Women's Super League titles. She was also in the Germany squad that finished as runners-up at last month's European Championship.  Shakhtar Donetsk players draped with Ukrainian flags applaud as they line up before the match (Source: Reuters) ‘Ukraine will win’: That was the message on the shirts of Shakhtar Donetsk and Metalist 1925 when they met on the opening day Tuesday of a new season of the Ukrainian Premier League. The players and referees were wrapped in Ukrainian flags when they entered the pitch. The match ended 0-0, it was behind closed doors, but football won. But Kyiv denied: Dynamo Kyiv's improbable bid to reach the group stage of the Champions League ended at the final hurdle after the Ukrainian team's loss to Benfica in the qualifying playoffs. Benfica won 3-0 in the second leg in Lisbon thanks to goals by Nicolas Otamendi, Rafa Silva and David Neres, following up their 2-0 win in the first game last week in Lódz, Poland. Dynamo hadn’t played a domestic game all year because of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Champions League qualifiers are the only matches Dynamo have played and they beat Fenerbahce and Sturm Graz to get to the final round. Rewarded for helping Ukraine: Clubs helping refugees from the war in Ukraine have been given $686,000 towards their humanitarian projects, the European Club Association (ECA) said. Athletic Bilbao, Celtic, Dinamo Zagreb, Legia Warsaw and Maccabi Haifa are among 15 clubs awarded grants of between $25,000 and $50,000. ECA, which has about 250 member clubs, set aside $1 million in March in a fund for Ukrainian relief working alongside the UEFA Foundation for Children charity. Only 500,000 left: World Cup ticket sales have reached 2.45 million, FIFA has said with more than 500,000 seats still available three months before the tournament starts in Qatar. FIFA said 520,000 tickets were bought in a first-come, first-served phase of sales that closed last week. Brazil's games against Serbia and Cameroon were among the most in-demand. The top 10 places ranked by ticket sales to their residents include Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The United States, England, Mexico, France, Argentina, Brazil and Germany are also on the list. The cheapest tickets for fans from outside Qatar are priced at 250 riyals ($ 69). Likely to miss World Cup: Mexico forward Jesús ‘Tecatito’ Corona could miss the World Cup after breaking his left leg while training with Sevilla, the Spanish club said. Sevilla said Tecatito broke his left fibula and ruptured ankle ligaments and will be out for four to five months. Roma midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum too has suffered a broken leg in training which could take months to heal. From Squirrels to Cheetahs: From now, Benin will be known as ‘Cheetahs’; the moniker ‘Squirrels’ being consigned to history by the west African country. Benin fans felt that squirrels conveyed a sense of insignificance when compared to nearby Indomitable Lions (Cameroon) and The Elephants (Ivory Coast). “From this day on, there will be no more squirrels in Benin at the football level. From now, our footballers will be called cheetahs,” the federation president, Mathurin de Chacus, said. Africa’s 54 nations have nicknames mostly of animals. |
