Dear Indian Football,
Give us back the World Cup dream. And this time to make it real.
As the 2026 FIFA World Cup approaches, there are still children in this country who wait for this month every four years with quiet, stubborn hope. Not rooting for Argentina. Not Brazil. Not Portugal or Spain. But India. Kids who still imagine lifting the World Cup in a Blue Tigers jersey, even if that dream seems impractical today, more like lying in a coma.
Every new year we talk about resolutions and wishes. Someone somewhere probably ate one grape for that World Cup dream. Just in case…
Because growing up as a footballer in India follows a familiar script. You exercise early, watch what you eat, take care of your body. Then someone, usually distant from the sport, casually asks, “What do you play?”
You answer with pride: “Football.”
And immediately a reality check is handed over: “Arrey, where is football played in India?”
But is it really true?
Go to the narrow streets of Kolkata where children play until it is too dark to see the ball. Go to Malappuram where football is woven into the fabric of life. Go to Shillong where talent feels natural, almost effortless. Even on the smallest plots and broken pitches, the dream still runs. He’s still breathing. The problem was never a lack of love for football. The problem has always been the structure around it.
There was a moment when he felt that this might finally change.
In late 2014, the Indian Super League (ISL) was scheduled to begin. Reliance sponsored the league. Sachin Tendulkar owned the club. Foreign players have arrived. Local football players were finally paid well. For the first time in years, Indian football felt organised, ambitious and hopeful. That era promised something lasting. The ISL came to fruition with the hope that Indian football could crack the formula. (Photo: Getty)
Ten years later, when his interest peaked, ecosystems were supposed to run on autopilot, things fell apart. 2025 has become a year that Indian football would rather forget.
2025 was the year when Indian football did not win a single international match.
In the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, India finished third behind Qatar and Kuwait with five points from six matches. No wins against Afghanistan. Attendance is down. Supporting the Blue Tigers started to feel like emotional work.
As India struggled to score on the field, Sunil Chhetri was forced to return from international retirement. But what could the captain of talismans do when the ship was full of holes?
Instead of solving the problems, the authorities started rotating coaches, eventually landed on Khalid Jamilthe first Indian to coach the national team in 13 years.
It didn’t stop the slide. It wasn’t meant to be. India finished last in the Asia Cup qualifying group, behind Bangladesh, ranked 180th in the world.
India’s FIFA ranking has dropped to 142, a far cry from the all-time best mark of 94 in 1996.
Off the pitch, the damage was deeper. ISL failed to start. The administrative deadlock in the All India Football Federation (AIFF) has spooked sponsors. There have been no offers for league rights. City Football Group has pulled out of Mumbai City FC. The domestic calendar collapsed into uncertainty.
Much of this took place under AIFF president Kalyan Chaubey, whose tenure was marked by growing criticism. The promises of the institutional league were never fulfilled. The much-hyped “Vision 2047” plan remains largely unimplemented. The revival of the league was announced, delayed and quietly dropped. Structures replaced empty calendars. Transparency has been questioned. Legal fees remained unpaid. The league’s youth and women’s initiatives have been more talked about than built. Over time, trust eroded. This is how India used to treat football, now it is a distant memory. (Photo: Getty)
So who do we blame? One president? One coach? One league? No. This is a system failure. A system that didn’t protect talent, didn’t build continuity, and didn’t deliver on its own promises.
But we’re football romantics, aren’t we? We cannot leave Indian football there. And that’s why, despite everything, our dream refuses to die. A dream to see India play football at the highest level and provide support to all those young kids who decide early in life that football is the way to go.
The dream lives in the alleys, in those dusty spaces, in the muddy local tournaments that are based more on passion than resources. It lives on in the kid in me who, when asked what he’s playing, still answers “soccer” even though the system gave them no reason to disbelieve.
Dear Indian football, this is not a plea for miracles or shortcuts. It is a requirement for honesty, structure and responsibility. For paths that actually lead somewhere. They don’t recycle for promises that are kept. For a future that doesn’t rely on nostalgia or celebrity visits to feel alive.
Because the World Cup is not just a tournament. It’s a direction. And right now, Indian football has lost its sense of where it is going.
2026 is here whether we are ready or not.
And now Indian football has to decide whether it wants to give its kids a real dream to chase or let it fade away quietly.
– The end
Issued by:
Debodinna Chakraborty
Published on:
January 2, 2026
