The Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, which was to host the exhibition game between Goa XI and India XI with Figo to be a part of, has a capacity of 27,000. But the last time it saw a capacity crowd was way back during the last Federation Cup final to be held there.
With Figo coming, surely the organisers must have expected a packed house. However their hopes went down the drain as merely a crowd of 5,000 fans turned up to see the Portuguese legend in person. In a state where football has been declared as the 'official sport', such a low turnout is downright criminal.
The tickets were ranging from Rs. 300 to Rs. 1250, with VIP seats going for nothing less than Rs. 5000. Rs. 300 for an opportunity to see Luis Figo in action isn't an exorbitant price to pay.
But the fact that there was such a mediocre fans showing at the event, it was nothing less than a shame to say the least.
Was the event marketing well? 'Everything must be judged by its end product', is a famous saying and going by this formula, the organisers had failed in their attempts to catch the attention of a football fan, who would rather spend time to watch an inter-village game than turn up for an event of this magnitude. The momentum was never built up before the high profile game and as a result, the Goan crowd shunned the event.
| Even Luis Figo's arrival failed to get the spectators into the stadium |
Then comes the matches itself for the youngsters. Many coaches voiced their dissent at the organisers for not adhering to the schedule. "We were called to play at 8 a.m. but our match only kicked off at 10.30 a.m. Another match scheduled at 12 p.m. started at 2.45 p.m," said one of the coaches to The Herald. "To make matters worse neither lunch nor refreshments were provided to the players," he added.
"There were no draws distributed, there were no manager meetings, there was no qualified person present to conduct the championship and it was just one event manager who was entrusted with all this. At this rate, they are killing the game and setting a bad example for the youngsters," another team official was quoted saying.
Given that the teams had to shell out around Rs. 12000 to register for the event, while the outstation ones had an added expenditure of around Rs. 15000 per head inclusive of boarding, lodging and transport, is expecting a better hospitality asking for too much?
Yes, slight delay in schedule is understandable but not that of over two hours or so.
"Our purpose is being more focused on the grass-roots tournament of Indian football, because that is where we think the next Ronaldo or Messi would come from for India. I don’t want to say Bhaichung Bhutia or Sunil Chhetri, I know those are big names in India. But from what we want to achieve, I think it’s about time a country of 1.2 billion people takes that initiative and produces a player suited for the world stage," Vinit Rughani, Business Development Head, red9 Events.
However the next Ronaldo or Messi wouldn't be spotted if they play on empty stomachs, or will they?
In fact many players ended up missing their games as they chose to head for the selection trials held by the Goa Football Association (GFA) instead.
If you thought that the mis-management would end here, you would have been surely mistaken. Besides the low attendance, having an open stage with no cover on top at a time when the rains had preceded the event, there was a complete lack of preparation to tackle this problem.
The water collected on the walkway leading to the stage caused one of the dancers to nearly slip during his performance while the freestyle footballers actually did.
"I am doing a soundcheck right now," were the words of renowned musician Remo Fernandes on stage just before his performance. "We would have done it much earlier if the stage had a tarp like we requested the organisers," he added at 2100 IST.
Remo went on to say that he was at the venue from 1300 IST to carry out the soundcheck. However he had to wait for more than 8 hours to do the same, right prior to his performance.
| Remo Fernandes voiced his disappointment live on stage |
The exhibition game was an exhibition of errors. During the game, the ball got punctured not once, but twice. The security at the stadium wasn't up to the mark as a fan found himself on the sidelines to get a picture of himself with Figo during the proceedings of the match.
With Figo sitting in the VIP section, which is next to the press box, fans used the entrance designated for members of the media in order to get a glimpse of the former Barcelona player.
Yes, certainly efforts such as YCL need to be praised. However organising an event of such a grand scale needs better planning and execution as otherwise, it leaves a lot to be desired and ends up being a disaster of all sorts with only 5000-odd fans turning up in a state which is one of the few football hubs in the country. Such shoddy management can undermine the seriousness of such events that hopes to promote the 'beautiful game' and find the next 'Ronaldo or Messi.'
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