GAMECHANGER

When Reliance partnered IMG, and when IMG-R acquired the marketing rights owned by the AIFF I felt genuine hope for Indian football. The games governing body here had joined forces with the world’s top sports management company and one of India’s most successful and aggressive corporate giants. What could go wrong?

Now, two years or so down the line, there are rumors of discontent and discord between Reliance and IMG, and of a lack of understanding, leadership and vision. Whether this is fair and accurate or not, as the IFA and CMG launch PLS amid much genuine excitement that reaches far beyond West Bengal, most of India is left wondering what happened to the rest of us. Why has nothing changed?  Everywhere else in India seems to have become immersed in a vacuum of nothingness.

The problem that seems to have floored IMG-R and the AIFF is how to square the circle of established I-League clubs and a franchise structure. You could throw in the issue of no adequate infrastructure and mix it with an already overcrowded calendar and you can easily become submerged with the idea that the whole structure and history of football in India defeats any possibility of meaningful change. ‘What to do?’ would seem an appropriate tag line.

The PLS is a gamechanger. Its long-term future is uncertain as of now, however it’s already changed the landscape of football in India forever. CMG wanted Lionel Messi playing in Kolkata so they brought over Argentina and Venezuela as the cannon fodder. IMG-R and the AIFF responded defensively by making it problematic to host a match in India between two foreign teams. The consequence was that FC Bayern played against an AIFF ‘India XI’. The PLS has brought a similarly defensive response: reluctant tolerance mixed with doubts about the concept and viability, and vague assurances as to their own project, still in the planning. PLS pressures IMG-R and the AIFF to deliver something more meaningful…something in fact.   

The IFA has always been symbolic of the challenges facing would-be Indian football revolutionaries. A powerful self-focused State Association that saw itself and its competitions as more relevant and important than the national league. For many Bengali’s it was more important to win the Kolkata Super League than be champions of India. To some extent Kolkata and the IFA have been pushed towards this thinking by the way that football dominates there in a way that most of the rest of India hasn’t (so far) replicated. Now they’ve done it again by launching their own self-contained Premier League for soccer.

In finding a way forward for India as a whole the challenge for IMG-R and the AIFF is to find a formula that takes the realities as they are, and create a structure that allows corporate investment and addresses the weakness of the infrastructure. There is an appetite for corporate investment in to football, providing the structure and vision is right. There is an enthusiasm among the new generation of football fanatics – and sports fans more generally – for an exciting, glamorous and star-studded football format. All the ingredients are there for IMG-R and the AIFF to create a real gamechanger of their own at a pan-India level. Without this PLS is a ticking bomb.    

The Dummy Contract

A new form is being used by clubs in India in relation to signing foreign players. At the point the player applies for his visa to go to a club on trial he signs a ‘dummy’ contract with the club and usually a form of cancellation in case the club do not sign him. This enables the player to acquire an employment visa valid throughout the period of his proposed contract with the club and endorsed such that he is only able to play for that club. In this regard it streamlines and simplifies the process and if the player and the club subsequently agree terms and a new contract is signed there are no issues.

If however the player and club don’t agree terms the problems can begin. If the player receives an offer from another club whilst on trial the ‘dummy’ contract – which technically is a legally binding contract - can be used to prevent him from taking up that offer. At one level this is fair enough, in so far as if a club has paid for the players flights and accommodation etc during the trial then it’s fair and reasonable that they should have some protection from another club walking in and taking him. Equally the player has a right to make the final decision as to who he wants to play for.

A reasonable protection might be for the club that brings him over on trial to be fully reimbursed by the club he eventually signs for if the two clubs are different. As things stand the player can be prevented from signing for any other club because he has signed the ‘dummy’ contract – the ‘dummy’ contract, with lower wages etc, can be imposed by the club that brought the player over on trial if that’s what it decides to do. The player is powerless.

Even if the player signs the dummy contract but changes his mind before he flies over he can have a problem. Once the contract is signed, even if the player never sees anyone from the club, and even if the club incurs no costs, they can prevent the player from signing for another club by virtue of the dummy contract. They can demand a transfer fee to release the player even though he has not even had a trial with them and he’s not set foot outside his home country. This can’t be right.

In my experience most players would not understand the full implications of what they’re signing when they put pen to paper on the ‘dummy’ contract. If the player has an agent then the agent should know but if the full purpose and intent behind the contract is not disclosed then there’s a possibility that the justification of ‘easing the visa process’ will be accepted. This is especially true where clubs have earned a reputation for being ‘fair’ in their dealings with players. There are many instances in business more generally where protections in law are in place but without the intention of these ever being used except in extreme circumstances.

One solution would be for the player to pay his own travel costs to come on trial. Where a club pays for the player then the ‘dummy’ contract needs to be placed within a broader framework of related rules and/or understandings. Such rules and understandings should be agreed between the clubs, and with the players union, and should be fair to both sides. While the intention of the ‘dummy’ contract may have been positive its application has been fraught with difficulties which need to be addressed.       

Stephen Constantine: How He Achieved A Miracle at Nea Salamina

Stephen Constantine has coached in some of the most demanding environments in world football. After his early years in Cyprus and the USA, Stephen took on the role of National Team Coach, firstly at Nepal, secondly at India followed by Malawi and then The Sudan. He returned to club football as Head Coach with Cypriot side Nea Salamina part way in to the season and with the club deep in relegation trouble. Remarkably, Stephen led the club to promotion with an amazing run of seventeen League games unbeaten immediately following his appointment. In this interview Stephen explains how he went about turning relegation candidates in to promotion winners

What was the state of the club when you took over?

The club were bottom of the 2^nd Division and in a complete state of disarray; the players didn’t even have half decent training equipment nor was there a real sponsor for the team jersey - they were spending 20,000 Euros buying their equipment from Puma!!! Players had asked to leave on the one hand and on the other I was told we needed seven or eight new players. Attendances were at an all time low and there was no budget to bring in the players we needed or increase the size of the squad...

So what were your priorities when you took over?

Change the attitude to how we train, and the time we train. Under me we trained in the mornings, and the players had to report 30 minutes prior to sessions. I also addressed the standards of the staff as some of them were too casual. A key thing, given the financial difficulties at the club and the low morale around the place, was to make sure that the players were paid on time.

How did you go about achieving these?

I talked to the players to see what they were thinking, and having listened to what they were saying I changed the training they were doing. I also took them to the Royal Air Force training complex where we did psychological and team building exercises, which helped a great deal. I treated them as individuals and all were treated equally - I am fair but hard with all players.

What were the key reasons that things turned around?

I think we did a lot of work on the training field and I talked to them a lot, about what I wanted, how I wanted it and that no matter what happened we were all in this together. I spent a lot of time getting to know them and building trust and confidence in the relationship between us. Our general approach to the game changed and became far more positive.

What were the key moments/games?

Our second game under me was an away game to one of the teams going for promotion. I made a substitution on about 70 minutes and the lad scored the winning goal in a 1-2 away win. It gave us a little belief going forward and we built on that and went on an amazing seventeen game unbeaten streak. Another significant moment was after the Christmas break: we played Aris at home who were in first place some 6 points ahead of us and one of the new signings scored the winning goal as we won 1-0 and that really changed a lot of things for us.

How did you change things tactically?

We went with a 442 and really looked to press teams especially at home, everyone knew their jobs within the system and of course we trained tactically 3-4 times a week...

How did you manage to develop a winning mentality in the team?

I hate losing even in the training matches we have and I tried to make training as competitive as possible. Once we had played 3-4 games without losing the players really believed we could beat any team we played against, and we did! We lost 2 games out of a total 26 during the time since I was in charge - a really amazing run especially considering where we started from...

How did you and the team feel going in to the play-offs?

That we were unbeatable!! The only thing that could beat us was ourselves..........and in both games that we lost, one in the regular season and one in the play offs - both away I might add - we did beat ourselves!!! At no point were we outplayed or out-thought. 

How does it feel having taken the team from a relegation position to a promotion?

As you can imagine it feels absolutely fantastic, to take a team who were in last place and looking to avoid relegation to finishing the league in first place, then the play offs where we finished second....I am very proud of what we achieved........

Looking back, what would you say your major achievements were?

I think the unbeaten run we went on, the way we played, we had the best defence, the best attack in the league; to see a player who was not even in the eighteen man squad before I came end up being one of the best players in the league; all four of my signings were a success and were instrumental in taking us up. Of course being promoted is the ultimate when you consider where we were and we were tipped to go down to the Third Division...there are actually a lot of positives and a lot of satisfaction for the fans, the club, the players and for me

How does this success compare to other successes you’ve had?

I think this is one of the best things I’ve achieved given the dire situation we were in and doing it in a European league is that much harder. Many of the other successes I’ve had don’t always jump out at you, although in Nepal we did am amazing thing in winning their first ever trophy at any level, and we won trophies in India too. 

In Malawi I was there for 18 months and while we didn’t win trophies I brought new players into the team and laid the foundations for the success the Flames have had over the last few years; qualification to the ACN was brilliant with all of my players and my assistant coach as well! They did very well and look good for the next ACN...

Sudan was a tremendous challenge and there is great talent there, the players are willing and able to play at a higher standard that’s for sure. I tried to change the old guard as we had a squad of players where the average age was 32 and my remit was ‘build us a new team’. I went all over the Sudan and saw players that made me feel the future was bright. In my first game against Mali we drew 1-1 at home and had 5 players under 23 playing for the first time!! They are still in with a good chance to qualify for the ACN for a second consecutive time, Malawi have their fate in their own hands and hopefully they can also qualify.

I could have achieved a lot more in Sudan and Malawi if I’d had more time and more support – it’s a shame that too many African Nations don’t think more about the players and the long term picture as they would surely have much better results then they currently get. There is so much talent in Africa but too many people think about what they can get out of it themselves as opposed to what they can give!

What will be your priorities going in to the new season?

Since the club were promoted there have been quite a few changes which have given the club more stability. We’ll need to strengthen the team and the squad, and then we’ll see how it goes. My contract was up so there was an element of doubt – people can quickly forget where they were and how much has changed – but I’m happy to say all that’s been sorted out. We’ll have the smallest budget in the top division so we have a great challenge ahead of us. I’m optimistic we can build on the progress we made last season and surprise a few people. Most at the club will be happy to stay up, for me and the players we’ll be aiming much higher than that. Let’s see what happens...

What are your longer-term ambitions as a coach?

It has always been the same for me: win the next game, and coach at the highest level. For me that means a top league, Champions League, World Cup...............as high as I can go...... I believe a great deal in my abilities and I’ve shown that I’m not afraid to test myself by taking on a tough challenge.

I do feel that I’ve proven over the years what I’m capable of. With every challenge faced, and every success and achievement the desire to succeed is greater than ever. The fact I have been all over the world and done well is, I think, testament to my ability to change and adapt to my surroundings, to recognise talent, and to make a positive difference no matter how tough the circumstances or how little the resources.