Indian football needs a change for the better
One step forward, two steps backwards. That has been the way Indian football moved in recent times. Not that the sport is in any good shape but the look out now is how much deeper would the sport fall. Much has been written on this sad state of affairs that one is pained to visit this continuing situation time and again. The latest is the depressive show in the AFC Asian cup qualification where for the first time since 2019 India has crashed out with the lowest point being the loss to Singapore, a country which is over 20 rungs below the home nation. This meant India is not good enough to be in the group of 24 from this continent which would be there for this Cup event in 2027! What is more the loss to Singapore also brought down India’s FIFA ranking to 136, the lowest in nine years!
These are times when yearning for pride on the sports arena has been on the rise. Nothing better symbolises this than the way Cape Verde, a country hardly known to the world at large, rose to become a participant for the 2026 World cup to be hosted jointly by USA, Mexico and Canada. The tiniest nation ever to get this rare opportunity. Even if unknown to the world of sports at large. Cape Verde has a well-established football set up, competitions, national league and the country has been participating in the Africa Cup of Nations, with the best show being a quarterfinal finish last year. That it beat a strong contender like Cameroon in its final qualifying match for getting a world cup spot speaks for the ebullience of this small nation. Besides its players get noticed in Europe and that opened the door for them to improve on their skills.
Miles away in Asia and in India to be specific, it is darkness that the sport of football confronts. True the entry of Khalid Jamil as Coach had many believe that a new era would begin to bring back,even if slightly, memories of that great past. In fact, things had begun on a positive note when India finished third in the CAFA Nations Cup held prior to the Asian qualifiers. That start did bring cheers. Beating teams like Oman and host Tejikistan and drawing against Afghanistan there rose a hope that Jamil was able to draw out the best from his wards. But everything ended with the misery in the Asian Cup qualifications. If Jamil’s predecessors, be it Igor Stimac or Manolo Marquez. felt that managing the Indian national team cannot be easy, so it has proved to be for the Indian as well. The fact remains that for the first time since the Asian Cup was expanded to 24 teams in 2019, India finds itself not good enough to be in the midst of the elites in the continent.
It is a sad commentary for a sport that had seen the best moments over 50 years ago. From being the best in Asia and then to be considered for long by the world body FIFA as a ‘sleeping giant’ that was refusing to wake up, Indian football today perhaps is in a zone of its own. But it must be said it is too early still to write off Jamil. The man has come to the fore after his fine show as coach with Clubs but he must have realised it can be a different cup of tea when dealing with a national side that had only the available Indian talents. When clubs refuse to release players on time or the players themselves come late to the camp, a coach can only deal with what he had in his hands. This is what Jamil perhaps must have faced because in difficulties, he did appeal to the clubs to be more considerate.
At a time when the country’s sports administrators with the Government’s backing have been looking for ways to get the best of sporting competition to India it is the various sporting disciplines in the country that have provide the inspiration. The 2030 Commonwealth Games has already been allotted to India and the next look out is to host the 2036 Olympics, something the country’s officials have been overeager. In tune with this is the way many sportspersons of disciplines that have never been in the forefront until lately have been showing signs of getting noticed. The Archers, rowers, shooters and athletes have been knocking at the door of recognition. We have seen the revolution in chess, improvements in hockey and cricket of course is in a different plane. In this midst it would seem ironic that Indian football should be in such a woeful state of affairs.
Footballing nations the world over have thrived on their national league which has been the lifeline for building national squads. But it is debatable if this is the situation in India. Ever since the I league and the ISL came to Indian environs, things have not turned out as was expected. Visibility of players have been one big drawback. That is where the tournaments of the past, the big and small were much looked forward to moments for football overs. One got to see the best players of that time and in due course heroes surfaced. What better way can there be to develop self-belief in the players. Star players like I.M. Vijayan, Bhaichung Bhutia and the lot of the recent past all became national treasures via the appeal that they gained in tournaments.
How to make the I leagues effective and how to convert the money-rich ISL a vehicle of progress for Indian football are something that AIFF has to give serious thoughts to. The sooner an effective change comes about, the better for this sport because it is difficult to imagine India not being among the Asian elites in football.