Shillong, Oct. 16 :
Model-turned-actor John Abraham and co-owner of the North East United
Football Club today exuded confidence that the journey of the
cricket-crazy nation to the FIFA World Cup finals would not be long if
everything goes well.
“The Indian Super League is in its
incubation period and in my personal view it will grow full-fledged with
the sole emphasis at generating interest in football and identifying
untapped talent. In FIFA ranking, we are 158th and it will take some
time before we go upward,” John said in an interaction with journalists
here. According to the Bollywood actor, in another five to six years
India might give a good fight to its Southeast Asian counterparts.
John was here along with Shillong Lajong
FC owner, Larsing Ming Sawyan, also the co-owner of NEUFC. They sought
support from Meghalaya’s soccer-crazy fans for the newly formed
franchise club, on the eve of hosting a back-to-back home match against
Athletico de Kolkata at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium in Guwahati
tomorrow.
He “apologised” for the inconvenience
caused to fans who could not get tickets. He, however, promised that
from the third match onwards, more ticket counters would be made
available in Shillong. “We need more time and the success of ISL is
important for the growth of football in the country,” he said.
Ming, who is also the All India Football
Federation vice- president, said developing football in the country
required a long-term plan. Asked about the youth development programme,
John said, “We are following Lajong’s model as we intend to have a
strong grassroots programme.”