cricket versus football

Sheffield FC, the oldest football club in the world, started 153 winters back as a “recreational get-together” when the “gentlemen’s game” Cricket was out of season.

Richard Tims, head of Sheffield FC said, some like minded friends thought of taking to the game during the winters of 1857 and quite liked the idea of forming the club, now the oldest in the world.

“It was formed as a club to play recreational games during winters when the gentlemen’s game cricket is out of season,” Tims, who is here in Meghalaya with his team to play a friendly with one of the world’s youngest football club Lajong FC, said.

Asked about cricket that has got into Indian’s psyche after the British introduced it, Tims said, proper development of football from the grassroots is what it would take to have a mass appeal in India.

He pointed out that building the institution of football in India from the top would be futile. “This policy to build football from the top league system has failed in China and it’s unlikely to succeeded in India either,” he added.

Tims was referring to the Indian league, model on the fancied English premier where foreign players add zing to the game. The Sheffield chairman said such investment does not help development of any game unless there are models to support youngsters from the grassroots.

Sheffield FC, he added, is now more into research and training. Tims said that India has huge potential and added Sheffield FC might tie up with the football institution here if the situation so arrives. “There aren’t any concrete plans yet, but lets see…” he said.