"It will be difficult for Indian football to develop

without the commercialisation of the game and the corporate sector will have to come forward and show more enthusiasm. There is a lot of potential for the corporate sector to benefit from the commercialisation of the game. "Especially, the corporate sector should help in infrastructure development. I am going to use my good offices for a corporate house to adopt a football academy the AIFF is setting up. Two academies have started functioning and another five will do so next year. So our effort would be that each academy is adopted by a corporate sector," he said. Patel admitted that Indian football has lagged behind other countries due to lack of world-class infrastructure. "Because of lack of infrastructure, Indian football has been lagging behind other countries after being the Asian power in the 1950s and 60s. Ever since our football has been declining, and we have lost crucial 30-40 years," said Patel. "In a big country like India there is not a single world-class football specific stadium. The Salt Lake Stadium in India is not a football specific stadium. Athletics events are held there and even A R Rehman concert was held there. "The Sports Ministry has said the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi will exclusively be used for football but it is not a compact stadium, which is required and the norm worldwide. "It is big challenge forward and a long haul for Indian football to become at least an Asian power. But things are going in right direction and the next 10 years should see football becoming the top sport in India," he added. Patel also said that the AIFF would organise a short tournament with city-based clubs on the lines of Hockey India League and Indian Premier League. "HIL and IPL have been great success though I am not happy at cricket being the top sport in the country. So we are organising a short franchise base tournament so that players can earn good money from it and the game becomes visible in a big way through television," he said.