Indian Football and its existence
Reading about what is happening with Indian football right now left me feeling angry and embarrassed at the same time. Players like Sunil Chhetri, Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Sandesh Jhingan and Rahul Bheke had to come together and directly appeal to FIFA just to get clarity on whether the Indian Super League will even function this season. Think about that for a second. Our most respected footballers had to step outside the country’s own system and ask the global body to intervene because things here have reached a complete standstill. That alone says everything about how badly the sport is being handled.
These are not random names. These are players who have carried Indian football for years with dignity, discipline and consistency, even when the system around them kept failing. And now they are publicly expressing fear that the sport could face permanent damage if this continues. It is January and there is no certainty, no schedule, no communication. Instead of football being played, there are letters, appeals and interviews filled with frustration. It feels humiliating that this is where we are, especially when we like to talk about sporting growth and ambition.
What makes it worse is how predictable this all feels. As a country, we only know how to care deeply about one sport. Cricket gets everything without ever having to ask. Money, media attention, infrastructure, patience, protection, endless celebration. Football is left to survive on scraps, and when it finally collapses under mismanagement, everyone acts surprised. The fact that Indian footballers had to reach out internationally instead of finding solutions within their own federation shows how hollow our sporting priorities really are.
This is not just about one season of ISL. This is about how casually we treat every sport that is not cricket. Talented players lose crucial years of their careers. Fans lose faith. Grassroots development suffers quietly. And yet there is no urgency, no accountability, no shame. It is disgraceful that athletes who should be focusing on their game are instead forced to fight for the basic functioning of their profession. If this does not wake us up, then maybe we never truly cared about Indian football at all.
