Kolkata may be the football powerhouse of India but Goa seems to be gaining in stature.

The number of coaches from the beach and church-dotted western state, attending the 'A' License football coaches' course at the Sports Authority of India centre in Kolkata confirms the belief.

Of 23 coaches attending the course, conducted by former Asian Football Confederation technical director and FIFA technical consultant S Subramanium, six are from leading Goan clubs.

While five, including national woman team's coach Shantakumar Singh, are from Manipur, there are only three from Bengal; none from its leading clubs East Bengal, Mohun Bagan, Tollygunge Agragami and Mohammedan Sporting.

The low attendance of coaches from Bengal had surprised the Malaysian-born Subramanium.

When told that National Football League champions East Bengal's coach Subhas Bhowmik is one of the country's most successful coaches despite not having any coaching diploma, Subramanium said: "He seems to be a very capable person. But if he gradually acquires the 'A' license I believe he can be far better.

"With this license one can learn the most modern aspects of soccer coaching. As the entire world gives the same training for 'A' level, the coaches can have an uniform understanding of the game. As a result there will be no difference of coaching between the clubs and the national team, which helps the players to cope with the techniques better."

Subramanium, who was a vital cog in the 1986 World Cup FIFA Study Group, added: "If India wants to improve its footballing standards, coaches' training is a must. I agree things cannot be changed overnight, but the administration should have a limited time frame like England for this."

Among the Goa coaches, Salgaocar's Savio Medeira, Vasco's Derrick Periera, Churchill Brothers's Marcus Pacheo, Dempo's Armando Colaco and Hayward Sporting Clube's Peter Douglous along with former India goalkeeper Brahmanand Sankhwalkar are attending the course while the three Bengal coaches are Prasanta Banerjee, Sujit Chakraborty and Ananta Ghoshle. All were seen slogging it out from six in the morning to eight at night over five sessions of practical and classroom studies.

While Mohun Bagan and Tollygunge Agragami are still looking out for a coach for the coming season, East Bengal are likely to retain Subhas Bhowmick as technical director, or with any such designation, should the AIFF make it mandatory that only licensed coaches can be in charge of clubs for the NFL.

In India, the only 'A' level coaches are Syed Nayeemuddin, Gabriel Joseph amd Jahar Ghosh. Gabriel is currently assisting Subramanium.

Subramanium said most of the top footballing nations have made it a rule for club coaches to have an 'A' license. He said in Malaysia, his homeland, and Japan the top clubs only recruit the services of the 'A' class coaches. The same practice is now picking up in China and Korea.

"Europe, France, Italy, Germany, Holland and Portugal have made it mandatory for the coaches of the top clubs to have this license. England has a fixed the time for coaches to take this license and within the next five years all the top leagues of the world will have only 'A' licensed coaches," he said, adding, "the AFC wants India's football to improve and be at par with the world and hence this effort".

Talking from his personal experience, he said, "My friends, Bobby Charlton, Johan Cryuff and Michel Platini, have had only moderate success as coaches because they were not conversant with the modern coaching methods. Of course, Cryuff's personality has helped him in continuing"

UNI