As I write this on the morning of the final, I am reminded of what a journey this has been. With many other journalists, I now have bragging rights to say was part of a historic event in Indian football history, right from the word go. But it is more than just being a part of it than it was to witness a spectacle in every sense. The quality of football played was at a level higher than we had dreamed of.
It’s almost cliched to call Kolkata the Mecca of Indian football, but in the days leading up to the grand finale, that is exactly what it looked like. It was as if the media from every nook and corner of the country had suddenly flocked to the city, to perform their Hajj around the last act on the field.
If someone had told me before the FIFA U-17 World Cup began that England would be in the final, I would have had the heartiest laugh of my life. England veteran striker Peter Crouch probably summed it up best with his tongue-in-cheek tweet after England’s semifinal win: “Youngsters these days have no regard for tradition. We don’t get to Finals of world cups. How dare they”
It would have been better if ol’ Crouchy made it to India for the game, but at least his compatriot Sol Campbell did. The legendary English defender lingered around the media tribune while the semifinal was on, but I was buried in match notes and missed bumping into him. (On that note, Marco van Basten is also around and I didn’t get to meet him either. Rotten luck, I tell ya.)
There is just one more thing I am looking forward to and I’m hoping I don’t miss that too. I haven’t seen the trophy live yet and just cannot afford to miss that award ceremony at the end, to catch a glimpse of the ultimate prize.
I’ve mentioned this before, but it is worth repeating: The City of Joy has pulled off this tournament spectacularly. It may be just one of the six host cities, but the facilities, hospitality and crowd support has bowled over the FIFA authorities. The last-minute decision to conduct the semifinal game, after nature wreaked havoc in Guwahati, furthered the city and the stadium’s credentials. It remains India’s best chance of securing that much-sought-after U-20 World Cup hosting rights.
The rangoli road design is one example of how the locals went out of the way to prepare the city ahead of the final match day. Over 200 students belonging to four fine arts colleges from different parts of the state had painted the path inside the main gate of the stadium with football-themed designs. The road serves as the entrance for the teams and the VIPs.
The passion for the sport in the city is so strong, the crowds here have played a massive role in the official attendance figures. With the third-place match and the final still to be played, India has already recorded 12,24,027, spectators, which is only 6,949 less than the record set by China in 1985.
The West Bengal capital alone had 4,85,693 spectators from its nine games, at an average of 53,965 people per match. If that figure is not mind-boggling, I don’t know what is.
And so, it is adieu to the ‘Mecca’ of Indian football. Kolkata, you did fine. The world will remember this.
