Veteran footballer Nisar Hussain is a well known sportsman of the Jammu & Kashmir who has brought many laurels for the state in the game of football besides being a boxer of par excellence. He is currently among the senior most professional football coaches of J& K State.
In an exclusive interview with The Kashmir Scenario, Nisar Hussain talks to Rameez Makhdoomi.
Tell us a bit about yourself?
My first love was the game of boxing and I excelled a lot in this game while representing my state. Then in 1980s when I enjoyed J & K police I had also developed great inclination towards football and by the grace of Allah I shone in this game as well.
How your sporting career did got hampered when the turmoil started?
As you know since 1989 when political turmoil hit this place the sporting activities got badly impacted. The sportsmen who were known for their agility were deputed for security checking purposes as the senior police officials knew we were right persons for carrying out this job.
What is your take on the steps taken to promote game of football n Kashmir?
The efforts shown to promote the game of football are virtually zero. Football grounds are being damaged like anything and are now very few in numbers. Even the ground at Eidgah has been vandalized to great extent.
What is your take on the football talent of Kashmir?
You would be amazed to know that on talent level I think we have more rich football talent than West Bengal. Whenever we conduct tournaments we get surprised to see the amount of talent we have. The only thing this talent needs is proper grooming and nourishment.
How do you view the efforts of Brazilian coach Juan Marcos in promoting football in Kashmir?
Actually, Marcos thought that Kashmir is a lucrative market wherein he can mint money and he could not contribute anything to our football and could not even train a single player.
In contrast to this we at Iqbal Sports Club have had a rich legacy of promoting quality players.
Why has India as a country failed to shine at ‘Global Football Map?
It is quiet a good question. Actually in India the age group which is promoted to play the game of football happens to be from 18-26 which is wrong approach as this game should be introduced and promoted from 9-16 years of age group.
The country also needs to improve upon the infrastructure to shine in the global game of football.
How can we improve the realities related to game of football in our part of the world?
We need to do two things in order to improve the scenario related to game of football in Kashmir. Firstly, Kashmir lacks quality football grounds and also we have lesser number of football grounds. We need to improve upon this shortcoming. Secondly, there is also dearth of quality football coaches in our part of the world.