Sport isn’t merely about numbers. But sometimes, they can paint a stark picture. The story of Indian football over the past decade would put a yo-yo to shame. Players who were part of a 2-1 defeat to Guam in June 2015 – prizes for anyone who can find the island on a map – were then part of a 0-0 draw against all-conquering Qatar in September 2019. India could beat Kuwait, who made a World Cup appearance more than 40 years ago, and then lose to Afghanistan, who haven’t played a home match in decades.
It’s all very well to talk of sport and its glorious uncertainties, but you don’t really build a fan base with results like that. Millions of Indians may follow the English Premier League and La Liga in obsessive detail, but it’s hard to find anything more than apathy when it comes to the national team, and the domestic leagues – the Indian Super League (ISL) and the I-League that it supplanted.
The presence of all three Kolkata giants – Mohun Bagan, East Bengal and Mohammedan Sporting – in this season’s ISL is undoubtedly a huge shot in the arm for the competition, but make no mistake, Indian football is in crisis. After a sprightly start to 2023, when winds of optimism briefly made Indian football fans dream, there has been one cold-water bucket after another in the face over the last 12 months.
Who is to blame is a debate for another day, but Indian football badly needs a lift. It’s damning that the average attendance in the first season of the ISL (24,357), when the three Kolkata clubs weren’t even in the fray, was nearly twice what it was last season (12,311). Attendance figures in Bengaluru and Chennai fell off a cliff, down nearly 30 per cent, while the lack of interest in Hyderabad was understandable given the ownership mess.
The Bengaluru numbers were especially worrying. Though the club is barely a decade old, they had built quite a loyal following. In seasons past, when they were admittedly more successful on the pitch, it was common to see hundreds of Chhetri-11 jerseys traipsing into the stands together. In 2023-24, Bengaluru FC only twice managed to get a crowd in excess of 8,000. The numbers in Goa, one of the hotbeds of Indian football, were similarly dismal, with an average attendance of just 8,642.
In other sporting news:
From shared training sessions to shared victories, Simran Sharma and Preethi Pal proved that the journey to greatness is never taken alone.
Read what @SimranVats11 and #PreethiPal shared in a conversation with @gargiraut15 https://t.co/WzCKdQcnDH
— RevSportz Global (@RevSportzGlobal) September 13, 2024
Chhetri is still playing, but the younger generation must see his exit from the national team as a huge opportunity to stake their claim for the striker’s role. The huge worry for Indian football – which Igor Stimac, the much-maligned former coach, would keep repeating – lies in almost every single ISL team playing foreigners in the key positions. If enough Indians don’t play along the spine of an XI – as goalkeeper, centre-back, central midfielder and centre forward – it’s hard to see how the national side can flourish. Manolo Marquez is a competent coach, with extensive experience of Indian club football, but he’s not a miracle worker.
For now, though, such squad transformation is many moons away. What the clubs can do is market the games better, and create a positive buzz around the league. The Kolkata derbies – there will be six of them this season – could well be central to that. And if a local hero or three is unearthed along the way, nothing like it. The likes of Sahal Abdul Samad, Lallianzuala Chhangte, Apuia, Kiyan Nassiri and Rahul KP need to step up in a big way. Without heroes to emulate, Indian football’s fall from grace will only gather momentum.
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