New Delhi: The 22nd edition of the FIFA World Cup may have concluded in Qatar with Argentina lifting the trophy but the pain of India’s absence from the tournament still seems to be rankling a few lawmakers.
The government faced multiple questions in the Lok Sabha Tuesday with MPs asking what measures are being taken to end India’s non-appearance at the most prestigious footballing stage in the world.
V.K. Sreekandan, a Congress MP from Kerala, asked whether it is correct that India has never qualified for the final stage of the World Cup featuring the top 32 nations, except in 1950 by default.
Anto Anthony, his party colleague from the same state, asked about India’s rank in football and about the financial assistance that is being provided for the development of the sport in the country.
Sports Minister Anurag Thakur informed the House that the Indian men’s senior team is currently ranked 106 in the world and the women’s team is ranked 61.
Replying to Sreekandan, he said: “India has never played the final round of a Senior Men’s or Women’s World Cup. However, India was invited for the 1950 FIFA World Cup as there were teams that had withdrawn but the Indian team didn’t participate in the edition.”
In several replies, the minister also clarified that the primary responsibility of getting India ready for the World Cup rests not with the government of India but with the All India Football Federation.
The role of the government, Thakur clarified, is limited to providing “financial assistance to it under the Scheme of Assistance to National Sports Federations (NSFs)”.
This monetary assistance under the scheme is “for training and participation of Indian team in international tournaments abroad, holding of national and international tournaments in India, purchase of equipment, training under Indian and foreign coaches with requisite technical & scientific back up, so as to enable the Indian football team to achieve excellence at international level,” the minister said in his reply to Sreekandan.
However, the corpus of that assistance has been going down.
The Annual Calendar for Training and Competition (ACTC) budget, according to one reply, stood at Rs 23.08 crore in 2018-19 and increased to Rs 29.94 crore in 2019-20.
The next few years have seen a steep decline, which includes the pandemic years. In 2020-2021, the budget stood at Rs 10.31 crore, while in 2021-22, it went as low as Rs 5.25 crore. For the year 2022-23, Rs 15 crore has been allocated.
Another Rs 10 crore was also approved for the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup for the current financial year.
Question about Olympics
The lawmakers also quizzed India about the country’s preparedness in other games, including the Olympics, and asked about the expenses incurred in organising the 2022 edition of the National Games in Gujarat.
Answering a question asked by Congress MP Kumbakudi Sudhakaran, Thakur told the Lower House: “Responsibility for the conduct of the National Games is that of the Indian Olympic Association and the concerned state government hosting the Games. The government of India has not released any funds for the conduct of the 36th National Games 2022, held in Gujarat.”
In a question about the Tokyo Olympics that happened last year, CPI MP P.R. Natarajan asked for a comparative list of medals.
In reply to his question about India’s performance at the elite Games, Thakur said: “Further, elite athletes who are medal prospects at mega-sports events, including Olympic Games, are supported in a customised mode under Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS). Sports Authority of India (SAI), an autonomous body under the administrative control of the Ministry, is implementing the following Sports Promotional Schemes across the country to identify talented sportspersons in various age groups and nurture them to excel at national and international levels.”
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