Flights to Kochi too expensive for AIFF? NT camp a dud as ISL players give it a miss
WHAT DOES IT TAKE to keep an Indian footballer from taking part in the national team's preparation camp? Well, in the case of some of the "stars" of ISL 2015, it seems, increased air-fare is reason enough to stay home instead of joining coach Stephen Constantine and a bunch of their colleagues sweating it out in Kochi in preparation for the SAFF Championship 2015-16.
According to a report published in Bengali daily Ebela, the AIFF has told Atletico de Kolkata player Arnab Mondal and Delhi Dynamos' Anas Edathodika that due to the price of flight tickets running high, they need not join the national team training camp currently underway at Kochi. Instead, they can join the team on 20th December, at Trivandrum, where the SAFF Cup tournament is scheduled to take place.
This development comes days after the AIFF agreed to Bengaluru FC's decision not to release their players - including captain Sunil Chhetri and striker Robin Singh - in order to rest them after they went through the hectic ISL schedule. BFC was following the lead of the multiple ISL franchises who forced AIFF to cancel a training camp for the national team ahead of India's World Cup Qualifiers matches back in October.
Is it a mere coincidence that AIFF has asked the ATK players to join the camp on the same day when Bengaluru FC players are being released? Because a flight from Kolkata to Kochi, available approximately at Rs 57,000 for business class and Rs 7,000 for economy, does not appear to be as astronomical enough for AIFF to have to compromise the preparations of the national team.
So maybe AIFF has decided to rest the ISL players, which is not an unreasonable decision. Why would they blame it on expensive flight tickets, though?
India play their first match in the SAFF Championship against Sri Lanka on 25th December. That means the players in question will join 5 days before their first match. Whether that will be time enough to prepare for a strong challenge from Nepal or defending champions Afghanistan, only time will tell.
The preparatory camp, meanwhile, is reportedly chugging along. There are 15 players currently working with Constantine. These are mostly I-League players who did not find a team in ISL. There are also some players from lower leagues. But most of them are unlikely to make the final squad. And due to their small number, Constantine has abandoned plans for a practice match. The camp is focusing mostly on physical training; but since most major players who will likely make the first eleven come Christmas day are not even taking part in this, its significance automatically comes into question.
It's the Federation's prerogative to let players stay back if it thinks the flights are too expensive to get them to the national camp. But going into the SAFF Cup under-prepared may cost Team India a lot.
