History of Indian Football

Indian national team’s meager international ranking does not quite reflect the sport’s popularity in the country. The game of Football is extensively played and viewed here. European club-level football matches, as well as the international matches are a big hit among the younger generation in India. The football scenario is vastly different at the Indian national and domestic level though, where only a handful of old faithful can be seen in the empty stands. Also due to the lack of quality television coverage, even interested football lovers tend to give the national and domestic club league matches a skip. The quality of football being played in the country is another important reason for this lack of viewership; which, in turn,
also results in ill-fed sponsorship for the game in this country. Off-late I do see a slight change of attitude towards Indian football from a fan’s perspective. Even the corporate houses have left aside their step motherly treatment of the Indian football team and have opted to sponsor a number of domestic major tournaments after the national team’s triumph in international tournaments like the AFC Challenge Cup and Nehru Gold Cup. This is certainly a refreshing change as far as Indian domestic football is concerned.