Imlisanen Jamir
September 13 was the 22nd death anniversary of Dr Talimeren Ao—the sporting icon from Nagaland, and Independent India’s first flag bearer and captain of the Indian Football Team to the London Olympics in 1948.
Dr T Ao’s achievements ushered in a silent football revolution in the North East, which is often considered the nursery of modern Indian football. While his name has lived on, especially in the North East, with institutions, awards and tournaments in his honour, a proper tribute to T Ao’s legacy in the form of a thriving sporting community is still far away.
Efforts to address the challenges for grassroots sports development in Nagaland have only begun. And with the impact of COVID-19 this year, these tests have only grown as hosting tournaments, travel, and training have become difficult due to pandemic and the financial distress it has unleashed worldwide.
While the Unlock 4.0 guidelines have opened up sporting arenas albeit without spectators, grassroots development in particular has suffered much over the past seven months as tournaments could not be held. This has been a sort of lost year especially for young and aspiring athletes.
The financial factor also plays its role. Grassroots sports depend a lot on the flow of funds down from major events and donations or philanthropy. These are now bound to dry up with the economic implications of the COVID-19 pandemic. When bigwigs like the BCCI and the Premier League are sweating at the thought of the financial pitfalls, one can easily gauge the effect of the pandemic on grassroots sports.
What this pandemic has shown is that the sporting landscape here has been charted by a top-down approach in delivery, consumption, financial support and investment as well as governance. This is compounded by an apathy towards the recreational and grassroots, thereby leaving the backwaters of the country in a constantly ignored state.
This year’s experiences can be used to reimagining sport post-COVID-19. In the post-pandemic world, government sporting agencies along with key stakeholders must look at serving the bottom of the sporting pyramid, focusing on grassroots and recreational sport and physical activity. This also means more sporting infrastructure at the grassroots, along with a greater number of instructors and the addition of other ancillary services.
Moreover, if there is one thing that we are learning during the ongoing pandemic, it is how to leverage technology for sport, and this is something that can be adapted to grassroots and recreational sport post the pandemic.
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