| Kolhapur for Rovers Cup?  The 18,000-capacity Chhatrapati Shahu Stadium in Kolhapur, which hosted the state's Santosh Trophy home games last month, attracted large crowds. (Credit: AIFF) Three days after the second stage of the 76th Santosh Trophy ends in Bhubaneswar, the Stafford Cup will be woken up from a 30-year slumber. That means for three weeks beginning February 10, Indian footballers who are not in the Indian Super League (ISL) or I-League first division will have something to play for. In Santosh Trophy, which starts in Bhubaneswar on Friday, there is also the incentive of playing the semi-finals and final in Riyadh. If Stafford Cup can be revived by Karnataka State Football Association (KSFA), why not other tournaments that would dot the season till the turn of the century? Saying that most wound up because the All India Football Federation (AIFF) started a national league has, for long, been a convenient way of shifting the blame. Not all of them were thriving before 1996 when, for better or for worse, the National Football League rolled in with home-and-away games in a competition that lasted months unlike tournaments that ended in 10 days. And since most of the tournaments wanted the same set of glamour teams, dates were often a problem. By not doing that, Stafford Cup has shown a way. ISL reserve sides, teams in the I-League second division and clubs in Bengaluru in particular and Karnataka in general can play for a trophy from February 23. There can be many ways to stoke interest in a sport but having a tournament is a sure way of doing that. And what’s not to like about more competitive games in a country where the top league guarantees only 20 of them. Targeting the teams Stafford Cup organisers have also brings down cost making it easier to get backers.  Mumbai City FC’s attacking player Lallianzuala Chhangte has said playing Durand Cup has helped him be one of ISL’s most consistent performers this season. (Source: Halfway Football) Backed by the armed forces, Durand Cup doesn’t have that problem. The tournament, the third oldest in the world, has moved to Kolkata and being slotted ahead of ISL means clubs can use it as a pre-season competition. “To be honest, the three-and-a-half week pre-season (in Dubai) by itself would not have been sufficient. We needed competitive games, one with a cup as target to get ready for the ISL,” said Lallianzuala Chhangte in an interview to HT last month. Chhangte was referring to the Durand Cup where Mumbai City FC finished runners-up and he scored seven goals in seven games. The IFA Shield too usually finds a slot every season though those who run the sport in West Bengal may have missed a trick by not holding the tournament in the March FIFA window. Yes, India’s best players would not have been available but those interested would have already seen them for six months in ISL. More reason to go the Stafford Cup route? Reviving the Rovers Cup would complete the holy trinity of competitions that defined domestic club football for most of the 20th century. Mumbai, where Neville d’Souza, SS ‘Babu’ Narayan, Fortunato Franco and Shabbir Ali found stardom, hasn’t been able to hold the Rovers Cup since 2000-01. There are no takers apparently for a tournament which would draw some of the biggest names from the Hindi film industry to the Cooperage. So, here’s a thought. Why not rethink Rovers Cup with teams from Maharashtra and clubs in the I-League second division? Or, why not schedule it at a time that I-League first division clubs can use it as a competition to get ready for the season? Like with the Stafford Cup, it will cost less and give teams a trophy to play for. Mumbai has a ISL club that has put some distance between them and the rest and one in I-League too. So, it is not as if the city is starved of quality football without Rovers Cup as was the case earlier. Then why not move Rovers Cup to Kolhapur? Clearly, as the Santosh Trophy showed Kolhapur has a deep love for the sport. For more than one sport, as Rutvick Mehta reports. An official of the Kolhapur Sports Association quoted in that article said even games in the local league have a full house. The Rovers Cup has been dormant for so long that India has got used to it. Because it is their property, the Western India Football Association is entitled to wait for time and money to recreate halcyon days of the tournament that began in 1890. Or, it can think differently and try to revive a cup that has given so much. A first for Manipur  Manipur chief minister N. Biren Singh (centre) announced that Imphal will host its first official international matches next month in a tri-nation friendly tournament. (Source: AIFF) Think differently, AIFF has. By taking the senior team to Manipur for an invitational tournament. Involving India, Myanmar and Kyrgyzstan, the Hero Tri-Nation Friendly Tournament will be held in Imphal’s Khuman Lampak Stadium from March 22 through March 26. That the announcement was made by Manipur chief minister N. Biren Singh is a good thing given how often such events fall flat without state patronage. From the mid-1980s when Kiron Khongsai came to West Bengal and made it to the India team in 1989, Manipur has given male and female internationals with assembly-line regularity. But it has never hosted the senior men’s team. “I was thrilled, happy that at last Manipur is getting something it deserved," Khongsai told news agency PTI. “I can tell you from personal experience that hosting these sort of prestigious events goes a long way to providing motivation for players. When the women’s nationals was hosted in Imphal in 1991-92, I was very young, and I remember watching the games, seeing such big players and hoping to emulate them,” said Oinam Bembem Devi, a former international and Padma Shri award winner. Barring once in 2019, India have had to travel for friendlies since Igor Stimac took charge. It is something the Croat head coach has always wanted to change. He will get his wish at a place where the hills are alive with the sound of football.  Arsenal suffered a setback in their bid to win the Premier League title after slipping to a shock 1-0 defeat at Everton on Saturday. (Source: AP) So much for form From Everton to East Bengal, Mallorca, Salem Aldawsari’s Al Hilal, Wolverhampton Wanderers to even Tottenham Hotspur, it has been some time for the underdogs. East Bengal stunned Kerala Blasters for only their second home win of the season; Cleiton Silva scoring the night’s only goal at Salt Lake Stadium to mark his 36th birthday. One day later, Everton, under new manager Sean Dyche, showed that it was not keeping the ball but what you do with it that matters. Everton had 29% possession but beat Arsenal 1-0. Soon after, Juergen Klopp’s season went from bad to worse as Liverpool shipped three at Wolves. On Sunday, Manchester City were dealt a Harry Kane blow that would seem soft given what happened hours later. On Sunday again, Mallorca, whose fans have been caught on camera hurling racist insults, pegged back La Liga champions Real Madrid’s quest to catch up with leaders Barcelona. And then came Flamengo being stunned by Al Hilal. They are the first club from Saudi Arabia and third from Asia to make the final of the Club World Cup. It fetched them a bonus of one million riyals ($ 266,500) from a Saudi billionaire. Champions League returns Manchester City, Spurs, Real and Liverpool will be in action in Europe next week as the Champions League resumes with the round of 16. Given that Premier League has charged them with over 100 rule violations, it will have to be seen how focused City are in their pursuit of a first. Liverpool’s game against Real is a clash of last season’s finalists, one Klopp would look to as he tries to repair the season. Chelsea’s Graham Potter and his raft of new signings would also aim for that against Borussia Dortmund. Spurs will hope to continue the rebuilding under Antonio Conte against AC Milan who go into Saturday’s home tie against Torino without a win in their last six games. And PSG, also in search of a first Champions League title, will show that another early exit from the French Cup means nothing when they kit up, without Kylian Mbappe, against Bayern. For more on the Champions League and a league going against one of its best teams, tune in to the Kicks For Free podcast that drops a new episode every Friday. | 
