Happy to be a part of this transformational culture in Indian football, says Robin Singh

Robin was speaking after conducting a master class to highlight the nuances of the boot and its relevance at an event held by Adidas.

Robin Singh looks on during an event.

Hyderabad FC striker Robin Singh is optimistic of Indian football growing in stature with the help of better infrastructure.

“It is something that will always improve, just like electronics will always improve. I think the growth and the upgradation of infrastructure is very important. It’s a matter of time when we will see a lot more infrastructure coming up. There's a lot of room for improvement but you can't take away anything from where it's has come to,” he said.

Robin was speaking after conducting a master class to highlight the nuances of the boot and its relevance at an event held by Adidas.

Speaking to the young footballers, he wanted them to be prepared for any unfair circumstances in their sporting careers.

He said “There will be times when the sport will prove ‘unfair’ and yet we must overcome these challenges. Adidas’ ‘Unfair Tournament’ provides an interesting and unique platform to play with different rules. I am extremely happy to be a part of this transformational culture that challenges mindsets.”

Reflecting on Indian football in general, Robin noted, “It's growing. The team is playing a brand of football that the spectators are liking, whether we're winning or not.

Indian football is growing as you can see youngsters stepping up to learn from the foreigners who come to play. The number of kids coming out to play on a Sunday is growing. It's on the rise.”

He lamented the slow of death of clubs but welcomes the ISL. “The club culture is dying but there is, say, Delhi Dynamos or (any city franchise). So the people of Delhi associate with something that says Delhi. Likewise in Bengaluru or Mumbai. When you say club culture is dying, it's a transition phase. ISL has helped Indian football grow. It's helped youngsters come up. Every young boy and young girl now talks about ISL. People feel proud to be a part of that growth.”

Robin pleaded with the fans to patient. “Couple of years back we were 167 in the world. We have improved. You can't have growth without failure. It's as simple as that. So if you are growing, you will fail as well. But you learn from that experience and you make sure you don't do that mistake again.

I believe in taking a step at a time. If you want to be best in the world, you got to be best in Asia first. To be best in Asia first you got to be the best in sub-continent first. You grow through the tactical and technical abilities of players. You grow through infrastructure.”