Many would argue that football isn’t a popular sport in India and to a certain extent, it is true. Football in India is slowly but surely garnering interest, but the Beautiful Game certainly does not enjoy the same kind of popularity that cricket does in the country.
When you look at it from a global perspective, football is more popular and relevant than any other sport across the world. Now, what can be done to make football just as relevant in India as it is everywhere else? Plenty to be precise.
If handled in a proper manner, these steps can spawn a football revolution in the country and could someday make the sport even bigger than cricket.
On that note, let’s take a look at a few ideas that can make football boom in India.
#1 Infrastructure
The most basic aspect in the development of any sport is infrastructure. Without the proper facilities and management, no sport on this planet can appeal to the masses. Football's biggest issue in India is the lack of facilities and infrastructure, players cannot showcase their skill and talent without basic amenities like playgrounds and training centers.
Although India boasts of several A-1 stadiums, these are limited only to international games or major sporting events. But what the country needs are small playgrounds in every corner of every village and city where youngsters can take the first step towards developing a career in the beautiful game of football. It doesn't have to be big, expensive or revolutionary, a little government land with a bit of grass on it will do.
#2 Grassroot Development
Football is a sport where it is necessary for players to be nurtured from a young age, similar to how it is with cricket in India. Cricket training academies are found in every nook and corner of the country but that is not the case with football. Apart from a few in the big cities, there aren’t many football academies available in the country.
The idea is to have a program where the government can set up football academies across every city in the country that offers football coaching for an inexpensive price or no price at all. These academies can develop youngsters from the grassroots level and monitor and guide them to become the best in the country or even the world.
#3 National Level Varsity Football League
Similar to American high school football, India can start a national level football league that will bring some of the best football talents in the country to the fore. This will not only help develop Indian football but also help the millions of youngsters in the country to realise their dreams of playing professional football one day.
The establishment of this league will boost participation and national level audience as the games will be broadcasted live on television. Every government recognised school with proper football facilities and playgrounds should be allowed to participate.
Any institution that does not have the proper facilities to build a team will be inspired to make arrangements once they realise the potential of the league. Schools will also benefit as they will receive recognition and prize money for participation.
This would ultimately lead to more number of students taking up football as a career.
#4 Social Awareness
Another important aspect of football is social awareness. Although close to 100 million viewers tuned in to watch the 2014 FIFA World Cup, that is just 10% of the entire population of the country while the last T20 World Cup held in India was watched by more than 700 million people.
Viewership is not the focus here, it is actually the reach of the sport. How can anyone expect football to be relevant in India when most of the country doesn’t even know it exists in the first place.
But interest in football has increased now with the introduction of the Indian Super League a few years ago. ISL has clocked a total of 216 million viewers according to the BARC which is an impressive number and a sign of the growing interest in football.
#5 Football Ambassadors
The kind of popularity that football stars such as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo enjoy in India is very well known. Fans who have been recently introduced to the game of football tend to follow the best and the most popular players to get a feel for the game.
But this is an aspect that can be utilized to our advantage by getting the most popular names in the game to represent Indian football or Indian football tournaments. ISL has managed to rope in some of the biggest footballing names in the world to either play, manage or just be ambassadors of the teams and this has been a major success.
