All dressed up and nowhere to go – the phrase perhaps sums up the state of Indian football as on date. There are no takers for the Indian Super League (ISL), the elite league which usually kicks off by October, the I-League as well as the Indian Women’s League as the home truth about the health of the game in the country hits us harder.

 What adds to the bitterness this time around is all the hype and splurging over Lionel Messi’s visit earlier this week. A clueless All India Football Federation (AIFF) has now made the 14 teams (East Bengal are not playing ball) a party to play possible stakeholders, a ludicrous proposition by all means even as there is a buzz that FSDL (Football Sports Development Limited) may hold a truncated version of the league from February - if at all.

No prizes for guessing that such adhocism cannot be the way forward to run the second largest sport in the country – but then, a stitch in time may save the livelihood of at least 1000-odd footballers, support staff and hundreds of groundsmen around the country.

The ISL alone boasts of a registered number of 375 footballers and some of the leading names among them have repeatedly appealed on social media in the fervent hope for action to begin.

The latest among them is Sandesh Jhingan, the leader of Indian defence, who currently plays for Goa FC and has the experience of nearly 150 ISL matches behind him. Speaking in an interview with Revsportz, Jhingan says: ‘’Nothing against the tour – it’s actually great if people get to meet the greatest player, Lionel Messi, to have played this sport. I do understand the business behind it and how it works. Everyone has the right to make money and I was, in fact, happy to see the crowd, the familiar faces, everyone who came to celebrate Messi. But while all of these thoughts were crossing my mind, another thought took over – the uncertainty of our own situation.’’

One wonders if Jhingan was just being politically correct – and what was going on in Sunil Chhetri and Baichung Bhutia’s minds as they turned up as guests of honour in Messi’s gigs. While it’s true that the promoter of the Messi extravaganza was under no moral obligation to spare a thought for helping football in the country, the unfolding of the two parallel narratives – one of a build-up towards the master’s visit over the past few months and the other of an entire domestic season being thrown into disarray went hand in hand.

The fortunes of the Blue Tigers, who failed to qualify for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup finals, had also nosedived with their last Fifa ranking being an abysmal 142.

A closer scrutiny of the club football scenario also reflects a lack of ambition. Two days back, current ISL champions Mohun Bagan Super Giant had been barred from all Asian Football Confederation (AFC) tournaments for two years for refusing to honour their AFC Champions League commitment in Iran and slapped with a hefty fine. It seems they are happy in flexing their muscles at the ISL level though Jhingan’s Goa FC competed against Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nasr.

Well, Messi and his entourage has now come and gone – a three-day tour of no consequence which had come at a price of Rs 100-crore plus. We are gloating in the fact that even though Kolkata messed it up, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Delhi have done a smooth job of hosting while the Jamnagar visit had been like an icing on the cake.

No wonder, the Argentine icon has promised to be back and why won’t he? Indian football, meanwhile, can wallow in self pity!