IT News
Imphal, Nov. 26: Manipur dominates the rest of the country when it comes to football. Eight players from the state are among the country’s team in under -17 FIFA World Cup. Over 60% team players in the women football team of the country are from Manipur. Number of football tournament organised in the state are countless and people in the state spare no pain in spending times to watch a football match. But what went wrong in the organising of the exhibition football match between Mandalay and Manipur at Khuman Lampak Main Stadium here in Imphal?
As this reporter witness, not even 20% of the audience gallery is field. What was seen were the players from Mandalay and the Manipur playing with extra seriousness with less audience to applause the unforgettable saved by the goal keeper of the Manipur team in the attempt by a Mandalay player.
“The Mandalay team comes with full preparation knowing that team Manipur is tough. The women football team is even tougher. But as the match is scheduled in a hurried way most of the women star players of the state are out of station”, said an organiser.
There were no comments from the side of the organisers on the failure to attract crowed in the football extravaganza. But this reporter witnessed the VIP gallery empty. The sofa sets covered with white clothes which tell that, those are meant for Ministers or MLAs or Bureaucrats remain empty during the match. Those watching the match are players undergoing training at Sports Authority of India, which says that most football fans from the state have missed the historic match between players of two states from two neighbouring country.
This year Government of Manipur organised Sangai festival at four venues. Almost all venues are pack with people as today happened to be Sunday.
Vehicular traffic in roads on Imphal is moderate with no office goers, but the Sunday Market near Rup Mahal Tank in Imphal is jammed with buyers of used shirts and pants.
The Sangai festival venue at Khuman Lampak too is no less but what appears to be humiliation to football in the land of football lovers is that audience gallery of Khaman Lampak main stadium today looks deserted.
“Both Chief Minister N. Biren Singh and Sports Minister Letpao were football players. An exhibition match between states from two countries should be historic and should be well organised to attract maximum numbers of spectators. I really don’t know why there are only few people witnessing this historic event”, Manitomba said.
