Where is India's place in international football?

Let’s football

I am a Bengali. I love football. It is good to see that we have been able to establish this very popular sport at the all-India level by going beyond the giants of Bengal, viz. the East Bengal, the Mohan Bagan, and the Mohammadan Sporting. My sincere respects and gratitude go to the Ambanis and to all those who have contributed to the success of ‘Let’s football’.

When will India figure in the FIFA world cup?

Football is progressing slowly. When will India be seen on the map of world football? I am 57. Can I see our players dominate in the fields of Olympic football? Like everyone else, I also love many famous footballers; whose names should I take? Pelé, Michelle Platini, Franco Baresi, Maradona, Zizou, Kylian Mbappé, David Beckham, Ronaldo, Rivaldo, Neymar, and the list goes on and on! Their style and deftness on the field had enamored me and the millions and will continue to do so in the years to come. But at the end of it all, they are all foreigners, aren’t they? Where are my players? Where are they?

‘The most [saddest] cut of all’

In the Olympics, Indians decide which country they will support; some support Argentina, some go for Brazil, some for France, some from Croatia, and this is ‘the most [saddest] cut of all.

How long will we support another country? How long will I be a fan of non-Indian players? Why can’t we watch our country play? Who will answer my question? I just want to know as a football fan why is it that in a country where the majority of the population is young, billions of them, why aren't we able to groom at least fifty robust footballers of international standard? There is no shortage of skilled trainers in our country! So why is it that year after year young India is denied entry into world football?

The challenge

Failure to get entry is not the challenge, the challenge becomes acute when one accepts failure and does nothing to be up and about. We have accepted that our role will be to support other countries, to cheerlead other players even in the next fifty years; are we unwilling to look introspect the reasons behind this absence?

Again, I am a general public, I don’t have any visibility of what is going on in the green room,
but I am sure we are not doing enough to see our country gallivant in the global map of the game we are so very fond of; we do not see any discussion on this, we do not have any systemic thinking either keeping the painful global absence as the problem map. Sad, very sad. Why aren’t the experts brainstorming enough on the subject? Why? Why? Why?

Not to forget that the FIFA world cup this year (21 November to 18 December) is the first to be ever played in Qatar, an Arab country, and will be the second World cup to be played entirely in Asia.

The real issue

What is the real issue? Funding for sure is not, crores of supporters will be more than willing to contribute to this noble cause. If it is training, we can hire the best of trainers to train the young legs and the minds. If it is corruption and politics, we could have some strategies to cope with this too, can’t we?

Let’s go for the common goal

What is your number?

1.     Goalkeeper

2.     Right fullback

3.     Left fullback

4.     Center-back

5.     Sweeper

6.     Defending / Holding Midfielder

7.     Right midfielder / Winger

8.     Central midfielder

9.     Striker

10.  Attacking midfielder

11.  Left midfielder

[Source: click here]

The whole process and its effort are so engaging that if we went all out to strengthen our weaknesses, we could see our country enter the FIFA world cup in 2026! Let’s make this our common goal and go for it.