Live India, Love Football

I'm sitting in one of the many lounges at the Delhi International Airport waiting to board my 1:30am red-eye flight to Newark. Sitting in this lounge devouring free food and wifi makes the 2 hour flight delay which I'm now facing a very minor issue. Actually, I must use this time to publicly thank my colleague Abhishek for letting me in on the secret of all the hidden airport doors my Mastercard Platinum debit card seems to open. Anyway, the next 4 weeks are exciting: I'll be in New York for a week of meetings (and re-connecting with friends), Denver for the MLS All-Star Game and California for more meetings and quality time with my family. Although this is, I believe, my 5th extended trip back to the US since moving to India almost 6 years ago, I am confident that this will be the most productive. The first few trips back seemed to only focus on explaining to influencers within the US soccer industry that Indians actually care about football, that there is an existi...

I remember when I first arrived to India back in 2009, I was spending a lot of my professional travel time in Kolkata and Goa as these were the clear hotbeds of Indian football at that time.   I can recall those trips vividly, as it was my first consistent taste of the passion for football in this country - not just in the stadiums but on every patch of semi-flat land around. While there is no denying the appreciation for the sport was there in Kolkata and Goa, what I found missing during those trips was the talent.   Of course there were players who stood above the rest like Clifford Miranda of Dempo SC or Subrata Pal of East Bengal FC who were stars of their respective I-League clubs however I found talent lacking in the street or park matches I would watch throughout my time in these cities.   The local boys could kick, pass and run but somehow the technique and tactics were just not present – especially when compared the type of play seen on the streets of Europ...