Art show examines India's World Cup absence

A crumbling concrete wall topped with goalposts divides an Indian art gallery. On one side are 126 iron footballs in glass cases. On the other, the low-pitched drone of vuvuzelas and a cheering crowd.

Getting from one side to the other of the sparse warehouse gallery in Mumbai is a challenge. Visitors have to squeeze through a low, narrow opening in the wall to see the best footballers perform in the World Cup on a big screen.

But that is the point of installation artist Riyas Komu's work "Subrato to Cesar", a reference to Pune FC and India goalkeeper Subrato Paul and the Brazil number one Julio Cesar, who plays club football with Inter Milan.

"One is completely obscure, the other completely famous," said Abhay Maskara, curatorial director of Gallery Maskara and a friend of the artist, who is currently in South Africa documenting the tournament.

"It shows the distance, the divide between the two. What will it take for things to come closer together? Right now, the distance is so great," he told AFP.

The month-long festival of football has prompted passionate fans like Komu and Maskara to wonder why India, with a population of 1.1 billion people, has never made it to the World Cup finals.

Matches from the English Premier League are shown live on television in India, with top clubs like Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool attracting a loyal following. World Cup matches are also being broadcast.

But despite a growing interest in the game -- more than 20 million people play football in India, according to world governing body FIFA -- India has a long way to go before it can challenge the best.

Five-times World Cup winners Brazil and its team of stars are number one in the FIFA world rankings, 129 places ahead of India, whose players passed virtually unnoticed among guests on the opening night of Komu's exhibition.

Given its size, India should have many world-class footballers, said Maskara.

"We've seen smaller nations like New Zealand and African teams doing exceedingly well in the World Cup," he said.

"But it's not only about numbers. It's about nurturing people at the right age, having the right resources and commitment."

As such, Komu's work suggests not only the actual divide between the big money stars of international football and India's best players but the physical barriers to success.

Rapidly-developing India's already crowded cities are becoming more populous, with construction work robbing children of places to play football -- or any sport, including the country's main passion of cricket.

Consultancy Ernst and Young said in a report published earlier this year that modern sports facilities were "woefully deficient" in Indian cities and sporting success is by accident rather than by design.

The Sports Authority of India said in its 2008-09 annual report that less than five percent of people had access to sports facilities and organised sport.

Spending was 13 rupees (less than a quarter of a dollar) per person. In Germany, the figure was four dollars per capita, Ernst and Young said.

Aminul Islam, a football writer who tracks the domestic game for The Times of India and on his blog, www.footballwallah.blogspot.com, hopes the situation will change, pointing to the success of Asian teams Japan and South Korea.

Japan hardly registered in world football until the creation of the J. League in 1993 but have now competed in four consecutive World Cups, while South Korea, who have not missed a tournament since 1986, came fourth in 2002.

Revamping India's national league along similar lines would help, said Islam.

"Money is there in Indian football. There's a huge amount involved and more corporates are coming into the game. But the marketing hasn't been done," he added.

Developing grassroots football, adopting the techniques used to successfully sell cricket to promote the game and recruiting more experienced coaches like national team manager Bob Houghton would also help, he added.

"If such people are involved I think India might see a revolution," he added.

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