Grassroot worries
Like Ahmed there are many in Srinagar who hope that the Santosh Trophy will inspire many youngsters to dream of wearing national colours. But there are hurdles on the way. Malik explains: “We, as an association, are not financially sound, but we have been conducting camps to help youngsters. The grassroot level and the school level is where everything should begin, though, and we still have lots to do there.
“The Sports Authority of India has opened academies in different states across India, and if they were to open one here, it would be of great help.”
Not everyone in the Valley, though, endorses the football fraternity’s optimism. Some find it hard to get used to the shift in mass mindset, and prefer to plod along the only path they know. Munna, a taxi driver, is clear about the fact that he will not let his daughters play football ever, or perhaps any sport, and even the success of the Santosh Trophy team hasn’t impressed him.
“We don’t believe in all this. Our culture does not allow it. I go to watch the Santosh Trophy sometimes, but where is the time, there is so much to do. For so long, militancy has affected our lives, and it’s only now that a little bit of freedom has been granted to us. Earlier, the curfew timings meant we couldn’t move out after 4 pm, so where was the chance to think about sports?” he says.
These stray voices are drowned as one reaches the Bakshi Stadium, one of the venues of the Santosh Trophy, where even a failed pass from defence to midfield is applauded. The excited voices from the stands tell the player to get it right the next time. Hope floats across the stadium. The Stadium has faced a few bomb hoaxes during the course of the competition but that hasn’t affected the attendance. Perhaps they have become so used to living under the shadow of violence that they have come to accept it as part of life. Such scares can’t knock them off their chosen football path right now.
One gets this feeling listening to J&K’s footballing poster boy Ahmed. Ask him for a reaction on national coach Bob Houghton’s views that the Santosh Trophy should be scrapped as it was ‘an antiquated tournament’ and he makes a face. “He’s mad,” says Ahmed. “They think we have infrastructure like England, he doesn’t understand.”