Every four years, in India, there is this discussion about ‘why can’t we play in the World Cup?’ Or ‘when will the world’s most populous country be part of the global spectacle?’
Mehtab Hossain’s laughter could not hide the frustration. “The list of reasons is long. A blank sports page
will not be enough,” the former India international tells The Telegraph.
Former India cricketer Deep Dasgupta thinks a “bottom-up strategy” is needed to revive Indian football. Kalikesh Narayan Singh Deo, president of the National Rifle Association of India, cites the example of China, a dominant force in the Olympic Games, but yet to make a mark in the Fifa World Cup.
“Even a footballing powerhouse like Italy have failed to qualify for World Cups. It’s not just India,” says Singh Deo, whose shooting contingent brought home half of India’s six medals in the Paris Games two years ago.
Shaji Prabhakaran, the former secretary-general of AIFF, is more direct. “The governing body must lead by example, projecting absolute transparency and an unwavering professional outlook.”
There are enough opinions on India’s consistent failure on the Asian and world stage. When fans see a Cape Verde or Curacao or Panama or Jordan playing on the biggest stage, they air their views on social media. “Cape Verde’s population is less than Calcutta,” someone wrote on X.
The problem with Indian football is deep-rooted. There is no sports culture per se in India. And football is just part of that system. Clubs here always have a blinkered vision. It’s ingrained in their system.
Sample this. In 2006, then coach Bob Houghton was left fuming after East Bengal and Mohun Bagan managed to wriggle out their players from the national camp for local league matches.
In September 2023, after the AIFF managed to get the green light to send the men’s and women’s teams to the Hangzhou Asian Games, most of the ISL clubs did not release their players.
As expected, India faltered and then national coach
Igor Stimac watched in disgust. Who paid the price? Indian football.
Last month, Mohun Bagan Super Giant pulled out their players, even as the national team was getting ready
to travel to London for the Unity Cup.
“To some extent, I agree that clubs have not played their part. Why didn’t Bagan release the players (for Unity Cup)? The ISL was over. Their players were denied good exposure,” IFA secretary Anirban Dutta says.
In the last few years, India saw some highs and many lows. In 2023, under Stimac, India won three tournaments in four months, beat Kuwait 1-0 in Kuwait City.
Unfortunately, everything was just frittered away. The Croat left... Then there were legal cases, uncertainty over the ISL, and clubs’ continued bickering with the parent body. As expected, India failed to qualify for the 2027 Asian Cup finals and also lost to Bangladesh for the first time in over two decades.
“When footballers do not play for seven months, this is what happens,” a top football official who did not wish to be named said.
In the live Fifa rankings, India are now 139, having dropped three places. The lowest ranking was 173 in March 2015 and the highest-ever was 94 in February 1996.
“Rankings are deceptive. If you use that as the barometer, the approach is incorrect. What we need is sustained investment at the grassroots,” says Hossain.
“What is required is proper talent scouting, bring them under one umbrella and get a coach to develop them as world-class players,” IFA secretary Dutta agrees.
“Football administrators must take care of the U-16 or U-17 players once they join the big league. When the ISL started (in 2014), and big names started coming to India, I was very upbeat. We do not need a top-down approach. We have to follow the bottom-up strategy and wait for the results,” Dasgupta says.
“One lesson from shooting’s rise is universal — sustained investment in grassroots and junior development is critical,” Singh Deo says.
The most important thing that we all tend to forget is physicality. Indian footballers are no match in terms of strength and fitness, even at the Asian level. That’s because Indians genetically do not have much leg strength. That’s why we do not see much success among physically demanding games like football, tennis, or golf, which require a lot of leg power.
Javelin superstar Neeraj Chopra worked with German biomechanics expert Klaus Bartonietz for five years and got the results. In wrestling or boxing, we earn medals since there are lower weight categories.
“Strength and conditioning coaches are a must at the grassroots,” Hossain emphasises. “Our youth development system is virtually non-existent, and the grassroots ecosystem remains largely insignificant,” laments Prabhakaran.
India had a taste of a Fifa World Cup in 2017 when it hosted the Under-17 World Cup. Jeakson Singh scored the only goal for India at
the age-group tournament where most of the matches had packed stands.
The irony is Ferran Torres, who played for Spain in the final against England at Salt Lake Stadium, is now one of three captains of his national team which is being rated as one of the pre-tournament favourites; Marc Guehi, who netted the fifth goal for England in the 5-2 romp, is an important member of Thomas Tuchel’s England squad. And what about Jeakson Singh? He will be watching the likes of Torres, Guehi and Jaminton Campaz (Colombia) on television.
The common refrain is that cricket has overshadowed all other games. “I am not going to buy that thought process. I played club cricket in a city where the game is much down the pecking order. In Calcutta, you become a supporter of a particular football club by birth and not by choice. It’s the game in the city,” Dasgupta says.
Agrees Hossain: “The problem is that football is not able to engage more youngsters from the lower rungs
of society.”
There are 3,88,311 players and 10,911 clubs registered in India, according to data provided by the All India Football Federation. England have more registered players and three times as many teams. “Unlike India, it’s a mass sport in England,” Dasgupta, who stays in Reading, says.
The advent of ISL in 2014, which gave birth to a franchise-based league, has harmed Indian football. Players’ salaries shot up, but the performances dipped. “Comfort football”, former India coach Stimac had famously said in 2022.
Is everything bad about ISL? Not really. “Players are more aware now, thanks to ISL. During our days, it was not like that,” Hossain says.
The number of matches a footballer plays post-ISL is alarmingly low and it is affecting India’s performance.
“When the senior national team struggles on the international pitch, it triggers a damaging domino effect,” Prabhakaran’s argument is spot-on.
The national team has to perform well and for that, the AIFF and clubs have to work in tandem. Till then, forget playing in the World Cup or the Asian Cup and be happy with ‘Brazil Houses’ and giant cutouts of Lionel Messi in Kerala and Calcutta streets draped in Argentina and Brazil colours.