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Kolkata, Dec 12 (PTI) Arsenal legend Sol Campbell on Thursday asserted that a balanced blending between financial investment and grassroots development is mandatory to develop Indian football.
The star central defender of the Gunners' 'Invincibles' of 2003-04 drew parallels to Saudi Arabia's recent spending spree to improve their footballing landscape to emphasise his point.
"Saudi are pumping in money, but they still have to develop the grassroots, or you end up like the American League back when Pele was playing. It was just really top-heavy, and all of a sudden, there was no foundation," Campbell told reporters. Campbell is in the city as the international event ambassador of the Tata Steel World 25K, the world's first World Athletic Gold Label Race, to be held on Sunday.
"I think if India can find something in between, where they have a little bit of sustainable money in there, you've got to have money to attract the players and then money to go to grassroots to cultivate the new blood and quality players and to find a system to identify these players. If you don't have a system, you don't know what you've got," he added.
The 50-year-old further shared a vision to better football's stature in India.
"India don't need the whole country playing football. You probably need 60 to 100 million people involved, and that's more than England has. It's about building a culture, starting with cities like Kolkata, which already have a deep love for the sport.”
The former Arsenal defender further underscored the importance of creating systems to identify and develop talent.
As a proponent of using technology to drive progress, Campbell expressed a desire to help Indian football directly.
“I want to bring in technology to identify talent, streamline coaching systems, and help develop players at every level. There's so much potential here, and I'm ready to assist in unlocking it.
"There's a lot of untapped potential in India. With the right systems in place -- academies, quality coaching, and lifestyle support -- you can find and nurture players who can elevate Indian football to new heights,” Campbell said.
Campbell had visited the city during the FIFA U17 World Cup in 2017. England's junior side had won the title, defeating Spain at the Salt Lake Stadium.
Campbell lamented the stagnation of young talents from that tournament.
"It's a shame about the under-17s team. I think Phil Foden is probably the only one to really come out of that with all the stars. You know, sometimes it works like that. Sometimes you can't have everything. You have a really good youth team, but it doesn't transfer over to the first team," he said.
Campbell hailed nations like Spain for their ability to handle the transition of young players seamlessly.
"I know some countries have found that bridge a little bit easier. I think Spain has probably found it easier to bridge young players into the first team. They've been very, very successful," he said.
Having overcome racial prejudice, public scrutiny, and the immense pressure of his controversial move from Tottenham to Arsenal, Campbell emerged as one of football's defensive powerhouses.
His resilience was instrumental in Arsenal's historic unbeaten Premier League season.
Reflecting on life in the digital age, Campbell said: "The main thing is to keep it real. Social media is a part of this, but it's not the whole thing. The key is to find and surround yourself with good people, because that's real life,” Campbell said in his advice to the youngsters.
"Once you turn your phone off and you're sitting at home, watching a normal TV programme or whatever, it's about having good people around you. That is the anchor, the foundation that can take you to another level,” he signed off. 7/21/2024
(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
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