Much to the excitement of sports lovers,
especially footballers and fans, Chief Minister of Nagaland Neiphiu Rio
announced the establishment of a professional football league in the state
during the inaugural function of the 23rd Dr. T. Ao Trophy in September last
year. It took shape within weeks, with the governing body officially naming it
as the Nagaland Super League (NSL) a month later. This much-anticipated league
is set to kick off next week before culminating after two months of football
action. It’s a landmark development in Nagaland football- a dream come true for
emerging and established players alike. There is no dearth of football
tournaments in the state, be it at the village, district or state level. In
short, what cricket is to India, football is to Nagaland. However, we see a
limited growth despite the passion and love for the game, which is apparent in
the lack of players at the national and international levels. Besides poor
infrastructure, lovers of the game have been lamenting the absence of a proper
platform to scout talents, hone their skills and leverage them from ‘season
players’ to professionals, which is legitimate. Now, will the NSL fill this gap
to some extent and act as a springboard for talents in the state to the
national and global stage?
The government of Nagaland has launched NSL
on the lines of the Indian Super League (ISL) with a vision to elevate football
in the state and to provide a competitive platform for local talents to excel.
It is a commendable effort in promoting the game. What is to be seen is the
progress, outcome and sustainability of this ambitious project. Whether or not
the initiative will make the intended impact will depend primarily on the
players and how they make use of the available platform. For instance, many
global superstars, though past their prime, have been roped in to the ISL but
it has failed to produce local players of international standards. This, the
head coach of the India national football team opined, is because Indian
players are “very comfortable” playing in the ISL and don’t make concerted
efforts to explore beyond the national league. The message is loud and clear:
complacency can defeat the purpose of NSL. In the meantime, the state
government should continue to invest in sports. A noticeable change has been
seen in sports infrastructure over the last few years, which is apparent in the
growing number of artificial turf grounds across the state, but it’s far from
enough. The state government should take the sports infrastructure to the grassroots
level for better participation and nurture talents. The NSL is just a means to
an end.
