One Jamshedpur FC forward, Mohammed Sanan, gave a brutal, emotional declaration that illustrates how unstable a football player career can be, and it has just about everything to do with being out of a job in case something happens to his ability to play the sport: I will be unemployed and sitting at home should I fail to play football. His honest words, borne in the period of doubt with the state of Indian Super League (ISL) season, provide insight into the vulnerable situation of numerous athletes whose sporting career and earnings are linked to the activities of the league.
Sanan’s career
The 21 year old winger was one of the finds of Jamshedpur FC in the last season as he played a major role in propelling the side to the ISL semis and a Super Cup final. His profile gained him a justified call up in the India U-23 side, in which he featured in friendly matches with Tajikistan and Kyrgyz Republic.
What matters though is that despite bursts of success, the claims made by Sanan sound very similar to those, faced by many sporting professionals in Indian, a stalled career does not only hold the threat of lost time but also of financial insecurity. The season of ISL is in limbo and players such as Sanan together with his other who is a fellow athlete Nikhil Barla do not know when jobs will resume and their future.
The harshness in words of Sanan raises bigger inquiries related to the sustaining efforts in Indian football. Are there adequate protection measures on athletes in case of a break in the leagues? What cushions are there to be used in case of breakdown? His worry is not only the lack of work but survival.
Sanan reveals what is behind the headlines in the human tone of voice. Every match is a potential security to him and not a game. And without the football, he says he is at risk of entering an uncertain, financially shaky world. It is a fact which cage of league administrators to the policymakers should see as they make sure that the dream of professional sport does not die with the season taking a break.
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