Live India, Love Football

http://www.sportskeeda.com/2010/09/23/a-candid-chat-with-neel-shah/

The other week I attended my first Indian national team match. They were playing Namibia on a rainy Wednesday evening at Ambedkar Stadium in Delhi.  The new metro line recently opened up so I could take the train from my place in Gurgaon directly to the stadium in Delhi. What took 1 hour on the train would normally take 3.5 hours in horrendous Delhi traffic.  After my first successful Delhi train journey that felt like a WWE trial, I finally squeezed my way out on the platform and on to the hectic streets of Delhi. My friend, Arup, met me at the station and we hopped into an auto rickshaw to get us to the stadium gates.  Once we got to the stadium I was immediately amazed by how many security guards there were doing absolutely nothing, how many little shops were attached to the stadium and how many chaiwallahs there were sitting on the ground. Nothing like showing up to the Home Depot Center for a match. We got into the stadium and there were about 12,000 passionate Indian fans w

I’ve been attending a lot more sports conferences and events these past few weeks and I’m constantly reminded of one thing: I’m relatively unknown in the Indian soccer world. During my final few years at MLS I knew a lot of people in the US soccer industry and a lot of people knew me. Most meetings or conferences were reunions with friends and I never had to talk about what I’ve done in the past. I’m in a whole new environment now and am just an unfamiliar face in the crowd. At first it was frustrating, but then this past Sunday at the PFAI awards my attitude completely changed. I realized that I don’t want to be known or respected because I built and executed some grassroots programs in the US. I want to be respected in India because I actually have made a difference in this country. I need to show results to get results. This whole experience has been quite humbling, but I’m thoroughly excited to watch these strangers of the Indian sports landscape turn into peers and then friends

A few days ago I attended the PFAI awards show at the Taj Palace Hotel in Delhi. This is the event that is organized by the Baichung Bhutia led PFAI and is strictly for recognizing athletes.   What a show. Well attended by the who’s who in soccer in Asia both on and off the field , press and even an appearance from Bollywood actor John Abraham showing his support.   2 highlights for me: one was finally meeting Sunil Chhetri who is the first Indian to play in MLS and someone who I indirectly helped out http://www.kcwizards.com/news/2010/04/take-inside-look-chhetris-mls-move and the second was briefly showing my awful Indian dance moves on the floor with some players on the national team. All in all it was a great event.

A few weeks back I had the incredible opportunity to meet Sylvester Peter and his kids at the Angel’s Academy in West Delhi http://www.merinews.com/article/every-child-is-an-angel/15776642.shtml. Sylvester has devoted his life to providing holistic education to slum children in Delhi. There are about 35 kids that he interacts with on a daily basis, many of whom he has personally transformed from thieves and drug addicts into peer leaders. Although all the kids in the academy all love soccer, we spent the afternoon in their main room listening to their stories, sharing ours and being entertained by some hilarious and heartwarming skits. I always get so much more than I give during these types of visits. My goal now is to not be that random visitor who shows up to the many slums in India to donate some items, give some hugs, take pictures and leave. Not that there is anything wrong with this, but I am through with that type of contribution. I want to be a more consistent visitor who