Former Chennaiyin head coach John Gregory reckons nine-month season is a much better format for coaches, players, and club administrators. A lot of football pundits, including India’s head coach Igor Stimac, believe a longer football domestic season is the need of the hour for the betterment of Indian football.
Football Sports Development Limited has planned a new calendar from 2022-23 season in which the Indian football season will align with the European clubs. The season will begin in August and will last till May as is the case for major European leagues.
There is no doubt that Indian football players need more game time and exposure to improve their skillset and a longer season will definitely help them achieve their goals.
John Gregory said while talking to the Times of India, “For coaches, players, and club administrators having the season stretched out over nine months is a much better format. It will be tremendously exciting for everyone to be involved in a long-term project. As a coach or player, I would be incredibly excited about playing the season spread across nine months. It will give you good recovery time after each game and with that should come better performances from your players and obviously more time for coaches to implement their ideas and philosophies on the training pitches.”
Meanwhile, Gregory had led Marina Machans to glory in the 2017-18 season and he has seen football grow to new heights in India. The Englishman reckons the season’s expansion to nine months will certainly benefit Indian football in long term.
“The season now will be more in line with the type of season that certainly Europe experiences. I don’t doubt the future of football in India. I’ve seen it myself since 2017 grow and grow. The game has captured the imagination of the people incredibly well, particularly since the ISL was introduced and world-class players have come to the country and paraded their talents. The season expanding to nine months is a bold step,” said former Chennaiyin FC coach.
Furthermore, along with ISL and I-league, the Indian clubs will participate in Super Cup and Durand Cup, which will definitely help them in improving their standards.
“More silverware on offer! Your career is often judged on how many cups, titles, or caps you won during your time as a player. So, more competitions mean more chances of medals. As you develop as a young player you want to be involved in these big challenges. Playing in semi-finals and finals is important for your development as we saw last season in the ISL for players such as Rohit Danu, Akash Mishra, Liston Colaco, and Kiyan Nassiri. They will have gained huge knowledge and experience playing in the kind of environment they faced last season. They will also understand that when you are in professional football that winning is the only thing that matters and you have to do everything in your power to make sure that happens,” the 68-year-old said.
