It’s a pity that the highest level of Nagaland’s football is being played in the kind of playground that we have here in Mokokchung. So much has been said about the need for a proper football pitch in Mokokchung over the past many years but things never really worked out and the condition of the playground only got from bad to worse.
The Inter District Football Championship is the FIFA World Cup equivalent for Nagaland. This is not a local club football tournament or some inter school championship. It is tournaments like this that professional talent scouts scan for potential signings.
Aided by information technology and communication, it is now so much easier for them to identify prospective talents without them having to come here or make formal communications. It will not be wrong to say that no other previous football tournament, or any other sports event for that matter, in Nagaland has received so much media glare. Instead of showcasing our talents and market, it has rather exposed just how far behind we are.
If this is the standard of infrastructure we have, where the highest levels of sports are played in Nagaland, then, perhaps, it is high time to ask ourselves some serious questions.
Nagaland got its first astro turf football pitch as late as in January 2019 at IG Stadium Kohima. It is not sure how many other venues have such state of the art facilities but it goes without saying that the playing conditions at Imkongmeren Sports Complex is a reflection of almost all other venues in Nagaland. It would be unrealistic to expect an international standard stadium in all the districts at this time but an astro turf pitch for all the districts is a basic necessity which can very much be met easily. The state government, the community, private individuals, associations and stakeholders can join hands and work together to identify a playground and lay astro turf, one in every district at least.
However, it should be kept in mind that laying astro turf is not the end goal. It is just a small part of the whole issue. First of all, there has to be a sound sports policy, a comprehensive plan encompassing all the aspects of sports development. The focus should be on the grassroots level. Then and only then can we give ourselves a glimmer of hope to produce champions and sports personalities. Sports is also an arguably bigger industry than music and it is observed that the local sports industry can flourish better than the local music industry if given the right kind of support.
Coming back to the current football tournament, it should be accepted with humility that Mokokchung has one of the worst football playgrounds in Nagaland and that we urgently need to do something drastic if we really mean business. This tournament has opened our eyes to a lot of issues and the adverse playing conditions have been a blessing in disguise. Now we need to buckle up and move on.
Meanwhile, as the chief minister of Nagaland, Neiphiu Rio, will be coming on the 29th to grace the closing ceremony of the tournament as special guest, can we expect some good news from him for Mokokchung and Nagaland?