On Parth Jindal's agenda as WIFA VP: Bringing the Santosh Trophy home for Maharashtra

When Maharashtra last won the Santosh Trophy (in 1999-2000), Parth Jindal was around 10 years old and just a bit taller than the hefty silver cup presented to the winners. Recently, the 29-year-old Jindal heir was elected as a vice-president of the WIFA (Western India Football Association). One of his goals is to work towards Maharashtra becoming National champions once again. “The aim, and this is what I said to Praful Patel [WIFA president] in the meeting, was Maharashtra should win the Santosh Trophy. So that Maharashtra football can contribute to Indian football,” Jindal told ETPanache at a recent event in Mumbai.

The Santosh Trophy and the I-League are India’s two leading tournaments. But they are struggling for relevance in the era of the jazzy Indian Super League (ISL).

Asked if tournaments like the Santosh Trophy needed to be incentivised more, Jindal said, “But that’s [Santosh Trophy] the way to play the ISL, right? We have FC Bengaluru [where Jindal is CEO] scouts in the Santosh Trophy every year. Same with the I-League. We get a lot of players from the I-League.” No conversation with a sports administrator is complete without the word “infrastructure”. Jindal mentioned it too.



“One of the things we have listed is a lack of infrastructure, especially in smaller towns. There are no football-specific stadiums in the state other than in Mumbai and Pune,” he said. “Places like Kolhapur, Nagpur, Ahmednagar… they don’t have football infrastructure. So, how can we work with the government to get that [is on the agenda]. Obviously, I have plans for Palghar district, which is my district, about how I can promote youth development, grassroots programmes etc.”

When reminded stadiums cost money and end up being white elephants in India, and asked if funds were better spent on training programmes, Jindal said, “I’m not saying build stadiums [necessarily]. We could look at converting existing grounds into football venues. Training is important. WIFA, over the past two years, has spent a lot of money in coaching trainers, doing coaching certifications [under the aegis of the All India Football Federation]. There is a D-licence coaching course, they want to have a C-licence course, then go into B and A and the pro-licence course. It’s been driven very well by the CEO, Henry Menezes. Also, a focus on baby leagues — under-7, under-9, under-11 [is important]. “It’s [his appointment on the WIFA] new so we have to spend some time in understanding what the WIFA’s mandate is.”