As a country of 1.3 billion people, that too with a knack for football in almost every part of the country, we cannot ignore the fact that India has great potential to become a force to be reckoned with in the football world. It can’t be ignored that despite being such a massive country with a great population, Indian football has not developed as much as it should have been.
It begs to rise the question as to why India is not in the FIFA world cup. This has been the story for more than half a century where India has failed to qualify for FIFA events. India was a force to fear in the footballing world in the 1950s and 60s. However, the decline came very fast and India never recovered from it to become a footballing nation. The most recent edition of the FIFA world cup was in November -December last year which saw Messi lead his country’s side to a total of three world cup wins.
Many people support Argentina from India, but there is a large chunk of supporters who would want their country to be in the world cup. Still, India had failed to qualify for the 2022 Qatar world cup after getting eliminated in the second round of Asian qualification. They were placed 3rd with seven points.
However, we can say the overall state of football in the country is improving day by day as more people are showing their interest towards the sport. More and more franchises and clubs are coming up with each passing day and the domestic leagues keep getting better with each passing year. Football is one of the world’s most loved sports and is growing rapidly in India too. To understand the scenario in India, we should know about the ban on AIFF by FIFA.
The ban on AIFF, by FIFA
As embarrassing as it sounds, in 2022, FIFA imposed a ban on the all India football federation(AIFF) after it came across a breach made by the board in India by allowing a third party interference in the management of the body. This was regarding the presidential elections. The ban was given due to the fact that this goes strictly against FIFA’s statutes and they comply with it strictly. The ban was lifted after a few days when the issue was resolved.
Does India have an untapped potential in football?
As said by one of FIFA former presidents, sepp Blatter, India is a sleeping giant in football, waiting for the wake-up call. The Indian team has great potential to do well, but the lack of media coverage and inappropriate sponsorships are holding them back from reaching great heights. They have a long eay to go before reaching the world cup. After winning the Hero intercontinental cup, India’s FIFA ranking has increased to 98 in the world rankings, the best in a few years.
The last time India qualified for a FIFA world cup!
It was in 1950 when the world cup was being held in Brazil. However India was not allowed to play due to team selection issues and insufficient practice time. There are a lot of rumors that the team wanted to play barefoot which FIFA did not allow. This is not true.
The reasons for this state of football in India
The major reasons are provided below for the current state of Indian football:
- The craze for cricket: cricket is treated as a religion in India and has a massive craze. This has hindered the people from developing interest for a sport like football.
- Lack of infrastructure or a project: this has been lacking since a long time and no steps have been taken to fix this. Even the major clubs lack a good academic facility and stadiums in some places. Without proper infrastructure and facilities, it is impossible for players to reach a higher level to compete globally.
- Failure to promote the sport: the marketing for football has failed miserably as the Indian football team has never been marketed properly to create a craze among fans.
