Patnaik’s project

You will be wrong in saying Odisha shows the way. You could as well put it differently to make it more comprehensive: Naveen Patnaik shepherds Odisha as it shows the way. The additional clause does not beat about the bush; reflecting a truth, it is also an uncluttered statement of fact. The chief minister in Bhubaneswar wowed India when he began giving hockey the leg-up it needed rather badly in a land where departures from self-seeking ways provoked hostility. It was as if cricket alone should be rallied for and everything else, simply dumped. The children of a lesser God take it for granted and soldier on, an increasingly difficult task where the rich put their money in sport only after finding out what there is in it for them. Hockey, with Patnaik’s help, saw the sun shin- ing on it. A prototypical Indian politician would have latched on to cricket; Patnaik, peerless, took the side of the game which once used to yield the solitary Olympic gold medal we would win. And, with the inauguration in Bhubaneswar on Tuesday of the Fifa ~ All-India Football Federation U-14 coaching academy with Arsene Wenger looking on, Patnaik unveiled another distinctly individualistic initiative shorn of five-star glamour. Once again, he chose not to be garrulous, his self-effacing persona finding new admirers in a crowd of international notables. And he had done a lot that was being spoken of in glowing terms.

Wenger himself went on record as saying the facil- ities in Bhubaneswar were first-class and the French master, long Arsenal’s coaching mastermind, would never be so lavish in praising anything or anyone if it did not match his vision or standard. But, much more important, the point India cannot afford to miss is that Patnaik’s benevolent, hands-off but astute presence will guarantee the academy’s progress in accordance with stated objectives. A goodish few similar institu- tions in the Third World have simply withered away as they were fundamentally flawed in terms of the hon- esty of purpose. Fifa gives questionably motivated national federation chiefs these gifts so they, along- side World Cup tickets, pocket a king’s ransom in return for which they vote on demand. Andrew Jennings, pro- bing Caribbean football corruption, once wrote about one ambitiously got-up school, evidently unfocused and completely wayward, which made a mockery of both the game and the country it had been intended to lead to glory. Patnaik will be a dyke against that kind of official but amoral recklessness. Technically, it is of essence that Wenger has emphasised beginning to learn to play football aged five or thereabouts, which implies that fresh talent is being looked for once again instead of relying on has-beens masquerading as great discoveries. Overall, the academy will mark a shift from Indian football’s current preoccupation with all that is peripherally glittering, and the departure should eventually usher in better days. A nation’s hopes will be focused on the school.

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