Fed Cup time slot, unsolved dilemma for AIFF

The 35th Federation Cup, which ends on January 25, is being held in Kerala after a gap of 18 years. Back in January 1996, the Federation Cup was staged in Kannur, The now defunct JCT, then a star-studded side with I.M. Vijayan, Jo Paul Ancheri, Carlton Chapman and Stephen Abarowei in their ranks beat East Bengal 5-3 on penalties in the final after the match ended in a 1-1 draw.

It was a historic occasion as for the first time the national broadcaster Doordarshan was denied the rights to the tournament. The All India Football Federation had sold them to a satellite TV company STAR Sports. This trend is also continuing as since 2005, the Federation Cup has been telecast by the now extinct Zee Sports and later Ten Action.

There are other similarities. Then, as now, there was a group of death involving East Bengal. In 1996, East Bengal were in the same group as the fancied JCT, Mohun Bagan and Mohammedan Sporting. Now they are also in a group of death with current I-League leaders Bengaluru FC and Sporting Clube de Goa.

In the ongoing Federation Cup, only one team from Kerala are participating, debutants Eagles Football Club. Despite the absence of strong contenders from Kerala the capacity crowds at both venues, Kochi and Manjeri, is an indication of their passionate attachment to football. This year a record four teams made their debut in the tournament. Besides the Eagles, the other three were Bengaluru FC, Rangdajied United and Kolkata based Bhowanipore FC.

The time slot for the Federation Cup is an unsolved dilemma for the AIFF. From 2005-07 it was staged before the I-League. At that stage the players were relatively fresh, so games were fast paced and competitive. However, due to India’s international commitments in both 2008 and 2009, this tournament was held during the I-League’s winter-break.

The players complained of fatigue and did not approve of this time slot. Also in 2008, Shabbir Ali, the then coach of Mohammedan Sporting, rested his foreigners in the Federation Cup as his prime aim was survival in the I-League. This devalued the tournament.

So the 2010 Federation Cup was held well before the commencement of the 4th I-League in a span of 11 days from September 21 till October 2, 2010. This was possible because group matches were held simultaneously at the Barabati Stadium, Cuttack, Guru Nanak Stadium, Ludhiana and the Tilak Maidan, Vasco Goa. The semi-finals and the final were held in Cuttack. This trend has continued and the AIFF staged the tournament in two or more venues in September 2011 and 2012 before the I-League commenced.

The format of the tournament has kept changing. From 1977 to 1987, there were double leg semi-finals. In 1988 that was abolished. Finally from 2005 onwards, the Federation Cup was staged as a knockout tournament on the lines of the FA Cup of England but with variations. The 2007 Federation Cup in Ludhiana was played as a straight knockout tournament. However since 2009 it has been staged on a league-cum-knockout basis.