Turf action is here to stay

PUNE: Football has come leaps and bounds in the city ever since Pune FC was established in 2007 and it continues to thrive rapidly with FC Pune City and DSK Shivajians taking up the mantle of the local representative in the ISL and I-League.
However, a majority of the credit must go to the numerous artificial turfs that have popped up all over Pune in the last few years that have given a chance to people to enjoy the smaller version of the beautiful game.
It all started with Hotfut Arena in Mundhwa and since then places like Greenbox, Ground Zero and Forza Football have become household names in the local football scene. The procedure is simple. Just gather 10 to 12 people, book a slot at any of these turfs, put on your football boots and start playing!
However, when it comes to the development of young players, some coaches are wary of using these turfs.
“Playing on turfs is hampering the 11-a-side football in children. It is a totally different ball game. In Europe, they use small sided games (5v5) to deal with pressure situations during a match. But turf football has grown so much that people are forgetting the full game,” said Steven Charles who is an Assistant Youth Coach at FC Pune City as well as the coach of the St.Vincent’s High School team.
Charles is also concerned about safety when it comes to playing on the artificial surface and is of the opinion that they should be used for leisurely purposes rather than training.
“Playing on a good quality turf matters a lot. I think 95% of turfs in Pune are not
certified by FIFA and it becomes important to protect your knees and ankles from injuries on such surfaces. Turfs are better suited for recreational purposes and I would not advise training on them.”
Kids need spaces to play and in a lot of cases across the city, we have seen them playing within the walls of their residential complex or even in the parking lot. This is where turfs have come to their aid.
“For me, any type of football is good. People will say it is better for recreation but at the end of the day, it is football. The more turfs there are, the more people that will play and that can only be good for football,” said Mandar Tamhane, Chief Technical Officer at Bengaluru FC.
Scores of tournaments are held on these turfs throughout the year and they usually have a terrific response in terms of participation because of the facilities and prize money on offer.
The annual Greenbox Premier League (GPL), which sees the best players in Pune turn out for various franchises, even has an auction where players are paid. The players are put in three categories according to how good they are and their base price is determined accordingly with Category A starting at Rs.8,000, B at Rs.6,000 and C at Rs.4,000.
The number of teams competing has doubled from eight to 16 in just three editions and there has been a different winner every season pocketing winnings of Rs. 1 lakh which portrays the competitive nature of the league. Players like Akshay Nair, Pritam Idnani, Nabeel Shaikh, Hetarth Choksi have made a name for themselves through GPL with Nair going on to represent Kolkata 5s alongside former Argentina striker Hernan Crespo in Premier Futsal last year.
Despite all this, Tamhane feels the sport could thrive even more if some sort of structure is put into place.
“From a footballing ecosystem point of view, it is really good that these tournaments, leagues and auctions are happening. But if it is regularised better and brought under a central umbrella, it will flourish better,” he said.
While coaches in the city are right to voice their concerns about turfs not being apt for development of young players, there is no doubt that involvement in the game has increased manifolds since these tiny, green strips of synthetic grass were first put in place.