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The requirements for the growth of football are much more, but there have been a few positive signals in the past week. The biggest of them all is J&K’s win over Delhi and their entry into the quarter-finals. Though, this too comes with a rider. There are whispers that J&K is a ‘one-man team’.
That MVP is Ishfaq Ahmed, the only one with international experience. Ahmed says his game would not have reached the level it is now had he stayed on here and played in the J&K local league. “I was fortunate to be noticed and signed on by bigger clubs in India; I would not have made progress had I kept playing here. Football has been here for some time, but it is growing only now. It will take time,” he says.
Like most kids in the Valley, the Mohun Bagan striker too began his sporting career as an opening batsman-wicketkeeper, but switched to the beautiful game soon after he got ‘bored’ with cricket. Ahmed decided to take up serious football and ended up as a goal-poaching striker. But the striker never imagined that one day he would be playing Santosh Trophy at home and a vociferous crowd cheering him on.
“People come out to watch us play. In the early stages of the tournament, there were no expectations from our team, but now that we have made the quarters, they want us to go further. The win over Delhi was huge, and it’s a great feeling,” says Ahmed after returning from his afternoon prayers. His hotel room, he says, is never occupied because he prefers to spend some rare time with his family. With the experience of knowing national football closely, Ahmed explains the problems that the locals face. “The All India Football Federation says it has been really tough to focus on J&K since there are so many issues in the region. It’s me and Mehrajuddin Wadoo who’ve managed to make it. He’s a childhood friend of mine, our stories are nearly the same, and I hope he gets a regular spot in the Indian team soon,” says Ahmed.

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