FIFA World Cup 2022: How Indian football is taking baby steps towards global goals

A newly-elected body of Indian football administrators, at the Football House (pictured here) in the national capital, is dreaming big for the sport in the country. (Photo: Faizal Khan)

In 1950, India qualified for the FIFA World Cup, but didn't make the journey to Brazil, then the host of the biggest show in global football. The Indian team's no-show at the World Cup is still shrouded in mystery with several accounts bandied about in the decades following the fiasco. One explanation is that the World Cup wasn't just important enough to travel to the far end of the world. Indian sportspersons simply loved the Olympics and nothing else mattered. Another is that there wasn't any money to fund the trip.

The most popular account, however, is that FIFA didn't allow the barefoot Indian team to participate without boots. Indian sports historians consider the Olympics-over-World Cup explanation more credible and the barefoot account a figment of someone's imagination. India did, in fact, perform well in football at the Melbourne Olympics six years later, finishing fourth for an all-time high in the nation's football history.

More than half-a-century later, there is no such mystery today surrounding the state of football in the country. A slew of factors ranging from absence of governance to lack of competitiveness has left Indian football in a serious state of disrepair. India is ranked 104 by FIFA, which slapped a suspension on the country this August for not running the game independently.

Roping in former players

The 11-day suspension seems to have spurred the sport's national body into action, electing a new football federation on September 2, headed for the first time by a former player. Kalyan Chaubey, the new president of the All India Football Federation (AIFF), was a goalkeeper for Mohun Bagan and East Bengal clubs. Former players — both men and women — are also part of the decision-making executive committee of the newly-elected football administration, again a first.

"Indian football is at a critical juncture. It has been uncertain times for the game in the country," says Shaji Prabhakaran, the new general secretary of the All India Football Federation, the apex body that administers the sport in the country. Along with Chaubey, other former players in AIFF include IM Vijayan, who captained the Indian team, star striker Bhaichung Bhutia, Goan Climax Lawrence, Hyderabad forward and former skipper Shabbir Ali, and national women's team member Pinky Bompal Magar.

"The former national players are eager to contribute to the development of Indian football," says Prabhakaran, a former FIFA Regional Development Officer. The enormity of the challenges faced by AIFF to develop football in the country was soon realised by the newly-elected body when the national team lost all its three group stage matches to make an early exit from the ongoing 2022 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup hosted by India.

Readying a Road Map

The new AIFF officials have begun work on a road map for development of football in the country in the long-term. Initially set to be announced within 100 days of the election of the new body (December 11), AIFF has now delayed the unveling to late-December after the Qatar World Cup (November 20-December 18). FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation are helping AIFF plan the development strategy. A FIFA team led by its director of strategic projects and member association governance, Nodar Akhalkatsi, has already visited India to confer with AIFF officials. Akhalkatsi, who previously led the Georgian Football Federation, is set to return to continue the discussions.

The road map, which AIFF officials describe as "our Bible for developing football", will have a long-term vision for grassroots-level development, infrastructure, hosting big competitions, league development, youth development, women's football and producing world-class coaches and match officials. Strengthening the 36 state football associations to achieve district-level development of young talent will be a primary goal.

"There will be equal focus on men's and women's football," explains Prabhakaran about the development strategy being prepared with the support of the central government, state associations, league partners, clubs and marketing partners. Finding the funds needed for the development of football to world-class standards will be difficult. The current budget of AIFF is Rs 90 crore while the federation will require Rs 1,000 crore to implement the road map.

In Asia, the major footballing nations of South Korea, Japan, Saudi Arabia and Iran spend more to maintain their quality and level to compete in big events like the World Cup. Saudi Arabia and Iran allocate money in excess of $200 million (about Rs 1,650 crore) for football every year. Public funds and marketing rights account for a larger share of investment in football for the top Asian football playing nations.

Brevity of the leagues

Attracting more states to football to add to the major football states of West Bengal, Kerala, Goa, Sikkim and Punjab will be another challenge. Lack of competitions to show talent means future stars are never discovered. Junior level players in India get a meagre 10 matches a year compared to 30-40 abroad. The two domestic leagues also haven't lived up to its promise. "The focus in the future will be on development at the grassroots," says Vijayan, who heads the AIFF technical committee.

The big names in global football that came to the Indian league to play and coach have disappeared from the scene. Roberto Carlos, the legendary Brazilian left-back who coached Delhi Dynamos during 2015-16, soon realised he wasn't helping himself or Indian football by remaining in the country. "Six months of football in a year is not enough to develop the sport in India," Carlos remarked before he left. The Indian Super League duration is six months and the second-tier I-League is played for five months. The Indian Women's League duration is two months. "Roberto Carlos is right," agrees Vijayan, who will be discussing increasing league duration with other members of the federation's executive committee. "Players need to be engaged all the time at clubs or the national team."

Sports commentators and former players insist the country doesn't lack talent, but opportunities. The Indian men's team has qualified for the 2024 Asia Cup to be held now in Qatar instead of China. Coach Igor Štimac, a member of the Croatian team that finished third in the 1998 France World Cup, and captain Sunil Chhetri are aiming to leave behind the first-round exit at the 2019 UAE Asia Cup.

India boasts of a football fanbase of about 200 million, which Vijayan sees as an asset for the sport in the country.  He says, "We need our people to see their national players in action by organising matches between the Indian team and various states and clubs in venues across the country. Big clubs from Asia and other countries could visit for matches against our national team and clubs. The fans will see more football and the coaches will discover the future talent of Indian football."