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When it comes down to sports patriotism, we Indians prefer watching cricket or even hockey. But when it comes down to football, we tend to follow European football leagues like EPL, Liga BBVA, Italian Serie A, etc or international tournaments like the Euros or the Copa America. When we talk amongst ourselves, we talk about teams like Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal, Barcelona, and Real Madrid.
What many Indian Football fans do not know is that the oldest club of the Indian Football Association (I-League), Mohun Bagan A.C. (1889) was opened up before the likes of Chelsea (1905), Liverpool (1892), FC Barcelona (1899), Real Madrid (1902), Bayern Munich (1900), AC Milan (1899), Inter Milan (1908) and Juventus (1897).
Fans know even the reserve squads of teams like Manchester United, Chelsea, and Arsenal, but do not even know the starting 11 of the Indian national football team. I have come across some people who keenly follow the I-League, but for others, the I-League is just about Mohun Bagan and East Bengal.
Fans just know about 2 decorated Indian players, Bhaichung Bhutia and Sunil Chhetri. People know Bhutia because he had a stint with the League One English club Bury F.C. (1999-2002), and Chhetri because he played for the MLS Side Kansas City Wizards and is currently playing for Portuguese side Sporting CP ‘B’. Some people do not even know the captain of the Indian national football team.
But we cannot just blame the fans. Lack of sponsorship deals, less TV coverage, lack of foreign players, lack of funds and various other reasons are factors due to which Indian football has not been able to reach the masses.
Teams like Bayern Munich (Bhutia’s testimonial match) and Blackburn Rovers (Venky’s as owners) have visited India to play matches against Indian teams.
The crowd turnout at the Argentina vs Venezuela friendly match at Salt Lake Stadium was double that of the derby between Mohun Bagan vs East Bengal.
Not many people might know this, but India had qualified to play for the 1950 FIFA World Cup which was to be held in Brazil. India had qualified because all their scheduled opponents withdrew from the tournament. But the All India Football Federation (AIFF) decided that the team would not play in the tournament. The reason given by the AIFF was that the FIFA did not allow the players to play barefoot. But the actual reason was that the cost of travel was too high, there was a lack of practice time for the team, team selection politics and the valuation of the tournament below the Olympics. Although FIFA agreed to bear half the expenses of the travel, the AIFF still did not give the team the permission to play in the tournament.
Only four players of Indian origin have gone on to play in the European leagues, namely Mohammed Salim (Celtic 1937), Bhaichung Bhutia (Bury FC 1999-2002), Sunil Chhetri (Kansas City Wizards 2010-11, Sporting CP ‘B’ 2012-) and Varin Mehta (Royal Antwerp 2012-)
A lack of good football stadiums is also a reason why Indian football is not developing. The Salt Lake Stadium and the Paljor Stadium in Sikkim are the only 2 stadiums in India with a modern artificial turf.
All in all, it is the fans’ duty to try promoting Indian football.
Sponsor deals from firms like Sahara, Nike, Zee Network, etc. might do good for Indian football, and might help it reach the masses.
