Mumbai: Former Leicester City FC striker Iain Hume feels that the Indian Super League (ISL) is helping young Indian players make a career for themselves in football, driven by the investments made by the clubs and the league.
The 2016 ISL winner with ATK FC believes that this is a massive leap from the state of players in the country a decade ago and the monetary influx in India's premier league is only going to benefit the country's position in global football, much like it does with Europe's top leagues.
"People say top European leagues are only money-driven but that's only because they are the best leagues in the world, if they were not, nobody would invest. It's the times we are in. Same for the ISL, to make a career out of football, you have to take the chances that come. If you get offered a big contract, you have to take it. I have witnessed this especially in India. It is giving a lot of young Indian players a chance to make a career out of football," Hume said.
"Indian players never used to have that opportunity. Even back as far as the first or the second ISL, players were finishing ISL, going and working in an office or a job. Now, they are getting the opportunity to play football for six-eight months of the season, and instead of going to the office, they can do coaching in an academy, there's that opportunity," he said.