Who says there is no football in Delhi???

I recently attended 10 football matches being played by professional clubs or countries all within a span of 11 days. No I didn’t take a European tour or another whirlwind soccer trip through the US; all of these games were watched in Delhi in 2 stadiums which are only about a dozen kilometers apart from each other.

How does this happen? Well, for better or for worse the Nehru Cup and the Durand Cup were both hosted in Delhi at the exact same time. The Nehru Cup is an international tournament hosted by AIFF which has been played in India every few years since 1982.  The Durand Cup, established in 1888, is one of the oldest tournaments in Asia and is organized by the Army for India based professional clubs.  This year the Nehru Cup was hosted in Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium while the Durand Cup was hosted in Ambedkar Stadium.

I had heard and read much about these competitions prior to and since moving to India, however I’m clear that there is no better education than actually experiencing something first-hand.  While sitting in the stands watching both competitions, I was filled with facts, figures, anecdotes and history lessons about each tournament by my colleagues and the many individuals who have devoted their lives to Indian football.  It was quite a reality check for me as I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve not truly respected India’s rich football history, however for the past 11 days it was impossible for me not set my ego aside and appreciate learning about India’s 100+ years of organized football.

Beyond the history lessons, I most enjoyed watching “my teams” compete in their respective tournaments. For the Durand Cup, Sesa FA was my clear favorite for personal and professional reasons. Not only did I meet most of the boys on my last trip to Goa, but Sesa FA is my company’s first client and a group who will always have a place in my heart. My other teams were India, of course, and Cameroon who Libero Sports secured for the Nehru Cup.

In my usual lazy/reader friendly way, I’ll save the long paragraphs and create lists. This time, I’ll focus on the Great, the Good, the Bad & the Ugly which I experienced during both tournaments:

The Great

• Watching India beat Cameroon in the Nehru Cup Final and seeing thousands of supporters run onto the pitch
•  Seeing the proud look on Libero Sports player, Robin Singh’s, parents faces when he calmly netted the first penalty in the shootout
•  Seeing India begin to play on the ground vs the long ball I’ve experienced watching at too many India matches in the past
• Watching Sesa FA score an extra time goal to draw with I-League first division club, Pune FC, and advance to the semi-finals of the Durand Cup for their first time ever
• The goose bumps I got every time I heard India’s national anthem

The Good

• Experiencing my colleagues become connected to our client, Sesa FA, in a whole new way after watching them achieve Durand Cup success game after game
•  Seeing Ambedkar stadium filled with Air India employees there to watch their club play a match
• Watching the passion and intensity played by the Durand Cup participants
• Arriving to the Nehru Cup final and seeing as many people in the stands as there were in India’s previous 4 matches combined
• Being able to have a years worth of meetings with many of the key influencers within Indian football across just 11 days

The Bad

• The long drives through rush traffic to get to both stadiums
• The weird and mind numbing in-stadium broadcast announcements during the Durand Cup semi-final
• The fried food being served  at halftime in the Nehru Cup VVIP area
• Some of the boring matches during the Nehru Cup especially the ones played in the rain
• Cameroon’s lazy play during their meaningless match against India prior to the final

The Ugly

• Sesa FA giving up a last second goal to Air India in the Durand Cup semi-final and then losing in a sudden death penalty shootout
• The poor pitch quality for the Nehru Cup mainly because of a week of torrential downpour
• The poor attendances for the Nehru Cup league matches even though tickets were being sold for a measly INR 75 ($1.50)
• The terrible stadium operations at the Nehru Cup which made parking and entering the stadium a challenge each time
• The fact that cricket was still taking up most of the sports section in the Hindustan Times and Times of India the day after India beat Cameroon in a thrilling final to win their 3^rd consecutive Nehru Cup

 Here are some pictures from both tournaments: