Football
ESPN staff 9y

David James: ISL needs investment as infrastructure is non-existent

Former England goalkeeper David James claims that the Indian Super League (ISL) needs "heavy investment" ahead of Saturday's inaugural final.

James, 44, has helped his Kerala Blasters side to a final against Atletico de Kolkata in Mumbai after beating league-leaders Chennaiyin 4-3 on aggregate in the semifinals.

However, the former Liverpool goalkeeper has been criticial of the league which began in October with eight franchise teams and a host of 'marquee' players all pushing 40 like Italy legend Alessandro Del Piero, ex-Arsenal midfielder Freddie Ljungberg and ex-France striker David Trezeguet.

"Short of spending an absolute fortune to get younger marquee players, you had to go down the road of getting household names who were a little later on in their years, if not at the end of their careers in some cases," James told BBC's World Football.

"They have got to do some heavy investment, the infrastructure is near on non-existent. There is a severe lack of qualified coaches in India. Four, maybe five sides, were playing on cricket pitches. The coaching is another issue. Training facilities are very, very hard to come by."

However James, who is player-manager at Kerala, has enjoyed his taste of management and does think there is hope for the future in India.

"If they get those things right, the potential is massive," he added. "As far as wanting more of it, yes, for sure. I always fancied the chance of doing a manager's job and I'm enjoying this one."

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