Football greats should get their due, says Nayeemuddin

Syed Nayeemuddin, former India football captain, calls for recognition of football greats at major events like the Durand Cup, criticizing the lack of acknowledgment for their contributions to the sport

HYDERABAD: For someone who left an indelible mark on Indian football, especially on the Durand Cup, former India captain and star footballer of yesteryears, Syed Nayeemuddin, feels disappointed at being repeatedly ignored for the inaugural ceremony of the prestigious championship, which is also said to be the oldest football tournament in Asia.

“I just don’t understand the logic behind the organisers inviting the same players again and again and not bothering about someone like me who sacrificed so much,” the 80-year-old Nayeemuddin said in a chat with Telangana Today. He was referring to the grand opening ceremony of the Durand Cup in Delhi, where the President of India, Mrs. Droupadi Murmu, ‘flagged off’ the trophies in the presence of a select gathering last week.

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“Yes, some of us are not good at PR management. But that doesn’t mean you can take our achievements away from us. We played the game the hard way,” he said.

For the record, this champion footballer led East Bengal to its second ‘triple crown’, winning the IFA Shield, Durand Cup, and Rovers Cup.

When asked whether his age and health could be reasons for not being considered, the spirited footballer was quick to remind that when it comes to the sport, he would go the distance. “I would have loved to be there,” he insisted.

The football great from the City is also the only footballer to be conferred both the Arjuna and Dronacharya Awards.

Nayeemuddin, who led India to a bronze medal at the 1970 Asian Games, feels it is disappointing that some of the finest footballers, who gave everything for their sport during their peak, never really got their due.

“Take the case of Thangaraj’s family. He was one of the greatest goalkeepers in the world, and what does his family, which hails from the City, get? Peanuts,” said Nayeemuddin.

“It is high time that the footballers of yesteryears, who played the sport with sheer passion and national pride when there was no money at all, should be taken care of—especially since many of them are struggling financially,” he said.

“So, I feel these greats should be invited to major tournaments across India, felicitated, and presented with a decent purse as a symbolic gesture to show that they are being taken care of in the twilight of their career,” said Nayeemuddin.

A product of the famous Rahim Saab School of football (former India coach late S.A. Rahim), which produced countless superstars of Indian football from the City six decades ago, Nayeemuddin is apparently not pleased with the state of affairs, especially in the way some ex-footballers are treated.