Despite its vast population, India’s football World Cup dream remains a distant reality, plagued by deep-rooted systemic issues, a struggling national federation, and inadequate youth development, leaving fans to hope for a future turnaround.
Key Points
- India’s football team is ranked 138th globally and failed to qualify for the Asian Cup, despite a massive population, due to systemic issues.
- Problems include poor youth development, lack of widespread popularity beyond a few states, and a national federation (AIFF) struggling with a uniform vision.
- Experts believe a complete overhaul of the system could take a four-year cycle, followed by 20-25 years to reach World Cup qualification.
- The Indian Super League (ISL) has faced challenges, including stalled negotiations and a lack of a broadcaster, impacting club development programmes.
- The government is considering a ‘sports passport’ for Indian-origin athletes, but immediate action is needed to improve youth development and coaching standards.
As the World Cup reached its final week, Gourav Roy, an Indian software engineer living in San Francisco, drove more than 6,000 miles across the United States to attend both semi-finals and the final.
For Roy, it was the next best thing to what he had grown up dreaming of: seeing India play the World Cup. But the possibility of that dream coming true is looking ever more distant as deep-rooted systemic issues and the failure to implement reforms have left the country of 1.45 billion ranked a lowly 138th in the world, failing to even qualify for next year’s Asian Cup.
“I’ve learned to love without expectation. That’s the burden of the Indian football fan,” said Roy.
While countries with tiny populations like Curacao and Cape Verde qualified for the 2026 World Cup, India remains a prime example of wasted potential in the world’s most popular sport.
Challenges Facing Indian Football
Those working in Indian soccer say the problems range from poor youth development systems, lack of popularity and a national federation (AIFF) struggling to implement a uniform vision with a loose patchwork of state associations.
“If you ask me, to clean up the system and reorganise it will take a full cycle of four years,” Ravi Puskur, the CEO of Indian Super League (ISL) club FC Goa, told Reuters.
“Then it’s another 20-25 years to get us to the World Cup.”
Confined to Pockets
In cricket-mad India, soccer remains popular only in a handful of states like West Bengal, Goa, Kerala, Mizoram and Manipur. The ISL, launched in 2014 with the backing of Reliance Industries, one of India’s biggest conglomerates, tried to change that with limited success.
In 2025, the AIFF and Reliance did not renew their partnership as negotiations stalled amid a Supreme Court case to implement a new constitution for the federation. This year, under new management led by clubs, the ISL is yet to finalise a broadcaster and announce fixtures.
NorthEast United CEO Mandar Tamhane, who previously led Bengaluru FC, said clubs alone cannot fix Indian soccer.
“You’re talking about the government, corporate India… it has to be a collective effort,” he said.
“The federation has to make sure the clubs, state associations, the corporates and other stakeholders all work together.”
Weak Youth Development
AIFF executive committee member and Mizoram’s sports minister Lalnghinglova Hmar said the government can help with infrastructure, but for Indian soccer to improve, the country’s youth development system needs a drastic overhaul.
“In South Korea and Japan, kids play over 40 competitive matches per season. This is missing in India,” he said.
“We start developing players too late. Most Under-15 players get only 12 to 15 competitive games yearly. Some get called up to the youth national camp after playing less than 20 competitive games.
“We’re short on qualified coaches. Many states don’t even have a youth league… we just can’t compete like that.”
But India’s size, the very thing that makes it an attractive sports market and led to the huge success of cricket’s Indian Premier League, also makes it difficult for the AIFF to implement widespread reforms. “If even half the states were doing a proper job at grassroots, things would grow,” Hmar added.
The uncertainty over the ISL, which forced some teams to suspend player salaries last year, also dealt a blow to the clubs’ development programmes. “If you can provide stability, gradually the investment will increase,” Puskur said.
A Limited Window
With India bidding to host the 2036 Olympics, the government is considering the launch of a “sports passport” that allows Indian-origin athletes to represent the country. The AIFF leadership has backed the initiative, believing it will help improve the national team’s performances.
But the proposal is still far from becoming law, and Hmar said Indian soccer needs to act fast.
“The other nations aren’t sitting idle… if we don’t match them, even if we improve, we will remain where we are,” he said.
While Indian soccer hangs in limbo, fans like Roy can only live in hope. “They are talking about a 64-team World Cup… it won’t gift us anything, but more places mean more hope,” he said.
