Professionalism has been the mantra to take Indian football to next level. And quite rightly the All India Football Federation (AIFF) has underlined the importance of that to all the 14 I-League clubs.
Professionalism has been the mantra to take Indian football to next level. And quite rightly the All India Football Federation (AIFF) has underlined the importance of that to all the 14 I-League clubs.
But the way Mumbai FC were treated by Shillong Lajong during their match in Guwahati on Sunday, as alleged by club’s manager Henry Picardo, indicates that professionalism is still in its primitive stage.
Thanks to a complete organisational mismanagement, Mumbai reached the venue just an hour before the kick-off. The next day they nearly missed their flight back home. They eventually lost the match, their sixth defeat in nine matches.
The Mumbai team management is livid with the treatment dished out to them by the local organisers. “We reached Guwahati on Friday and were supposed to have a practice session at 2pm on Saturday. However, the bus driver didn’t know the route to the stadium. As a result, a 10-minute drive took us one hour. When we finally reached the stadium, we didn’t get a full practice session as the organisers were watering the ground,” Picardo told DNA.
Later that evening, Picardo told the match commissioner and the members of the local organising committee, which includes AIFF vice-president Ankur Dutta, to provide the bus at 11am on Sunday, the match day but the bus arrived late.
“The bus arrived at 12.45 while we were supposed to be at the ground at 12.30. Instead, we reached the venue at 1.15, just one hour before the kick-off. I informed the match commissioner about it and also sent a text to Sunando Dhar (I-League CEO),” Picardo said.
But the misery didn’t end there for Mumbai. “On Monday, we told organisers to arrange a bus at 4am as our flight was scheduled for 7am. However, the bus never came and there was no help from the organisers, whom I tried to get in touch with. Ultimately, we somehow managed to reach the airport in time by organising local transport and just reached in time to catch the flight,” Picardo said.
This is not the first time Mumbai have been treated in this manner by Lajong. A couple of seasons ago, there was a similar incident when the two teams faced-off in Shillong. Picardo said the club will make an official complaint to the AIFF on Tuesday. Under the new AIFF regulations, it is the host club’s responsibility to take care of the travel and accommodation of the visiting side.
Dhar, too, was unhappy with the development. “This shouldn’t have happened. It is Lajong’s responsibility to ensure that the visiting team is treated well. As soon as we get the official letter from Mumbai, we will launch an investigation into the matter,” he said.
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