Indian football facing its biggest threat: Wim

MUMBAI: India’s National football coach Wim Koevermans is not a happy man. If India’s scheduled friendlies getting cancelled wasn’t enough, the latest standoff between I-League clubs and the IMG-Reliance tournament has angered the Dutchman so much so, that he’s calling it the “biggest threat” to Indian football.
“I can say and plan whatever I want, but the biggest threat now is the IMG-Reliance tournament. A lot of national players have signed contracts for the tournament and because of that the clubs won’t sign them. So, what I’m facing at the moment is that the contracted players cannot train with the clubs and prepare themselves. And I have a game with the National team in August,” a visibly agitated Koevermans said on Tuesday.
 “So here we are, everyone wants to see a successful National team, and now we frustrate ourselves. You can organize anything you want for your country, but the National team should not suffer. And if I cannot take six or seven players because they are not with a club due to something created by ourselves, it is a big threat and it should not have happened.”
Koevermans also rued the fact that India are not playing enough friendlies. India were scheduled to play Bangladesh and Paksitan in London in June, but it was cancelled due to financial issues.