So, is anyone interested in Indian football? No? Well, that's hardly surprising considering the fact that even the sports administrators in the country seem least inclined towards rejuvenating it. Perhaps, the only person who gives a damn is Vijay Mallya who keeps buying up clubs, and has created the piquant situation of both East Bengal and Mohun Bagan having the same owner.

However, the hottest thing going in India's soccer firmament is definitely Bhaichung Bhutia (but hasn't that been the case for the last couple of years?). The latest, of course, is that he has been taken on by a British club. No, it's not Aston Villa, it cried off after the routine trials. Instead, the entire brouhaha is over his contract with the second division club Bury FC. Yes, that's correct India's foremost striker will play, not in the Premier League, not in the First Division, but in the Second Division.

If that weren't bad enough, there's more bad news awaiting Bhaichung over what already appears a jinxed trip to the British Isles. That is that the British Government has a policy of not allowing players from countries that rank below 70 on the FIFA listings to play professional soccer in their country.

And, guess where India stands? 114!!

So, obviously, there is some wrangling over whether Bhaichung will finally make it to England. We'll wait and see. Meanwhile, even though the Indian expatriate may have made it big in English cricket - Nasser Hussain, Mark Ramprakash, Vikram Solanki - nothing seems to be in the offing when it comes to soccer. One wonders why. The only bit of news is that Jas Jutla has also been taken on trial with Bury. Jutla was till recently playing with Greenock Morton in the Scottish first division. However, these hirings are more because Bury is trying hard to appeal to the subcontinental population, hoping to increase crowds and membership.

It's misery time otherwise for Indian soccer fans, or should we say fans of Indian soccer (all six of them). The National League is a mess, the national team is a disaster and there seems no plan towards getting positive results.

Imagine our plight, we are ranked 18 in Asia! Thailand chucks us out of the pre-Olympics Asian Zone Group 9 qualifier on a 2-0 aggregate. Remember 1956 when India actually made it to the semi-finals of the Melbourne Olympics only to lose to Yugoslavia 4-I?

We now have difficulty beating countries even in the South Asian region since Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka have emerged as formidable opponents.

The worst thing is that there appears to be no hope in sight. However, let's still wish Bhaichung a successful venture abroad. After all, this 22-year-old Sikkimese star is the lone bright spot left as far as Indian soccer goes. And it's definitely going!!