The great Indian football circus

Bengaluru: It is hard to find many encouraging words to say about Indian football over the last few years, with the performances of the women’s team (AFC Women’s Asian Cup Australia 2026 qualification) offering a glimmer of light in what has been a dark and depressing time.

In all, just over two years since the All India Football Federation (AIFF) announced ‘Vision 2047’, the footballing scene in the country has plummeted to a spectacular low. 

And if anyone is surprised by the depths the Indian football has plummeted, then they haven’t been paying any attention.

Indian football has usually always been a place of confusion and commotion, a point where parallel lines could possibly meet. Only one word can describe the situation: chaos. 

For instance, over the last few months, it has played a host to a number of issues. From I-League’s recent case with the Court of Arbitration (CAS) to the Supreme Court verdict on the AIFF draft constitution case to the national team’s free fall on the FIFA rankings. 

The national football pre-season is also up and running without a season to look forward to (ISL on hold) due to the uncertainty over the renewal of the Master Rights Agreement (MRA) between the league’s organisers Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL) and the AIFF.

This came after the Supreme Court instructed the AIFF to refrain from negotiating any terms of the MRA with FSDL until a final decision on the constitution case was taken. 

That, however, is just the tip of the iceberg and the rot runs deeper. 

The AIFF called for a negotiation committee only in April, knowing that the 15-year agreement that was signed back in 2010 would come to an end in early December, putting over 5,000 people’s future (working in Indian football) at scare. 

Talking about AIFF’s incompetence and the people running it, “there should be an overhaul at the AIFF secretariat,” former India footballer Gautam Sarkar told DHoS. “Don’t take it as if I have any bad relations or that someone is a competitor, but some people at the top are just not good enough to take up such big roles and make promises,” said the man who was famously known to have man-marked Pele.  

“If someone is heading an organisation, we must have confidence that under him, there will be excellence and growth, and that’s the most important thing. However, that is lacking now.”

The AIFF welcomed the new President Kalyan Chaubey in 2022 with a lot of optimism running in the building. He was also the first former player to hold the top office of the governing body in its 88-year existence. 

However, with new depths of decline, a set of broken promises, some sacked coaches and a series of crushing defeats have turned hope into despair. 

To make it worse, there has been no introspection. Familiar faces have stayed while making the same excuses and drawing the same moves from the same old failed footballing guide and passing on the blame like a baton in a race.

“There should be a change, and we should bring the right person, one who is not only competent but also honest, impartial and is capable of developing players from his position of power,” felt Sarkar. “I still believe we have a lot of talented people in the country and if they are really guided well, are given the right exposure, trained under the right coaches, there is still a lot of hope for India to thrive and qualify for tournaments in the future.”  

While Indian football was encountering new lows off the pitch, it was taking a dip in the pool of frustration and failure on it, as its ranking dropped to 133rd after a string of average performances that put their AFC Asian Cup qualification in jeopardy. 

It was a low that Indian football had not seen since 2016, when they were 135th in the world. 

In such moments, the job of the Indian football coach is as much a game of musical chairs, Manolo Marquez’s posturing even after a series of defeats didn’t do him any favours, eventually leading to his sacking.

But was he the only problem? He had the results in the ISL, but it was always going to be an arduous task coaching both FC Goa and the national team without much break in between to understand the issue and produce results. What was the AIFF even thinking? He shouldn’t have been appointed with twin responsibilities on his shoulders and blaming him now doesn’t cover the federation in glory.

Talking about India’s recent performances and the ISL, “I see the Indian results in some international matches, I feel bad that nobody has come up (with respect to talent from a 10-year-old ISL) and that raises questions about what the main aim of the Indian Super League is. The motto should be how to develop raw players, hand them opportunities and help the Indian team perform in bigger tournaments,” India legend Shyam Thapa said.

The Indian footballing wounds are too deep for just the stitches to heal them. Cauterization, the second line of treatment, might just be what the doctor would have ordered. 

It is never too late for it, thought Sarkar, but the importance should be placed on developing the grassroots system and focus on long-term options. 

“Firstly, we must give much importance to the junior level boys, the grassroots. That is very much lacking in our nation. We are not ready to bring the real stars of India, because until and unless you give importance to the grassroots, you cannot keep moving forward or progress.

“The one more aspect where we lack is that we play friendlies against lower-ranked teams. That needs to change. In our days, we played much better teams and we beat them, and the effect on Indian football it had was seen,” he concluded.

Thapa also shared similar sentiments with respect to the grassroots system helping in the rebuild. 

“The best thing is to visit every state and meet all the state associations, advise them on the youth development programmes. Supply them with AIFF-trained coaches and talk to the sports minister in each state and convince them to finance the footballing project. Talent development is a step by step and a long-term process but everyone wants quick results.

“However, in India there is no proper youth development.

And till the time we don’t have a proper structure, we will stay wherever we are, without any progress.”

While Indian football has been in existential crisis for a long time, rebuilding it from scratch with an accent on the grassroots, appears to be the best possible bet to restore its glory days. 

Indian football team during their AFC Asian Cup 2027 qualifying match against Thailand. X/Indian Football

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