With sports fast becoming a sort of a money churning industry and with sportsmen and sportswomen becoming brand names in many aspects, hosting a game or a meet, be it international or national, has come to mean so many things. Today hosting a game means not only building the most modern stadium and state-of-the-art play field but involves such wide ranging aspects as security arrangements, transport facilities of the players not to speak of the boarding and lodging of the outstation players and participants.
Arrangements will also have to cover the team officials who may not take the field but are nevertheless a part and parcel of the team. Given the enormous responsibilities and expectations from the host, it is therefore not surprising to see countries which have won the right to host sporting extravaganza such as the Olympics, Football World Cup and even the Asian Games and Commonwealth Games, leaving no stones unturned to ensure that the meet passes off without a hitch.
We do agree that the Santosh Trophy comes nowhere near the sporting meet mentioned but at least this is a National meet and a meet that will decide the country's football champion. Given the acute financial condition and the unfriendly law and order situation, it is certainly courageous of the All Manipur Football Association and the State Government to take the plunge and decide to host the 58th edition of the Santosh Trophy and while our best wishes remain with the organizing bodies, we would like to raise
certain points for due consideration. Yes, we did successfully host the 5th National Games but that should be no guarantee that we will be able to repeat that success without any sweat.
Remember the National Games happened three years back, in 1999 to be precise, and a lot of water has since flowed down the Imphal River. The financial condition was not as acute then and certainly the law and order situation was better-remember the conditions on the highways were relatively better off. Piphema had not happened and there was no highway boycott then.
In as much as the Santosh Trophy is about deciding the football champion State of the country, for the host, it also means putting up a good face. As former MLA Haobam Bhuban wrote in an article to this paper, the garbage and dirt that litters the capital city is an eye sore. Surely we need to do something about this if we are to create a good impression on the outstation players and the host of journalists and officials who will be coming here to cover the sporting event. To achieve this, the Government has to start cracking its whip and of course it goes without saying that the people should also start developing some civic sense. That the road is not a place to dump waste and garbage should be drummed into the heads of the people.
Traffic regulation should also be tightened and yes our Police personnel should also be instructed to treat the guests as guests ought to be treated. Efforts should also be made to ensure that there are no unscheduled power cuts. We are not being overly pessimistic but it would do the Government and the others concerned good to realize that hosting
the Santosh Trophy is not only about trying to win the championship trophy but organizing an event and how well we do it. We should take the opportunity to show to the whole country that the people of Manipur, despite the many hurdles on their way, are capable of organizing the premier football meet in the country.
This is not to say that we have to ‘impress’ anybody but as host, it is our bounden duty to ensure that our guests have a good time while they are here. Without a doubt, dirty streets, stray cattle and unfriendly policemen will not make the stay of our guests pleasant. And of course it goes without saying that along with a well organized meet, winning the Trophy will be the proverbial icing on the cake.
(Courtesy: The Sangai Express)
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