Football's popularity in India is rising. It has the potential to rival cricket as the go-to sport for the next generation. A decade ago, if anyone asked you which sport does India play, cricket would be the most obvious answer. Fortunately, that has changed over the past few years. Other sports like badminton, kabaddi, and football have cornered a lot of the new sports enthusiasts.
2017 was a good year for football in India, with the national team going on to qualify for the 2019 Asian Cup while the country also successfully hosted the FIFA Under-17 World Cup. The Indian Under-17 side also gave a good account of themselves in the tournament.
Sunil Chhetri has started becoming a name more people know and recognize. A lot of local talent has been promoted in the ISL in particular and the marketing teams have made sure that the viewers remember these names. Football has also received a lot of support from Bollywood. A lot of stars either own stakes in teams or have been very vocal about their support for European teams. Ranbir Kapoor's love for Barcelona and Ranveer Singh's love for Arsenal is well documented.
Coverage of football matches and tournaments by the media has increased manifold, particularly, because of the huge demand for information around it. A few years ago, the only time you would see sports journalists write opinion pieces about football was if there was a World Cup coming up. Those also used to be very generic and mostly just used information from foreign articles. Now you can read about all the big matches on a daily basis.
3. Successfully hosting the U-17 World Cup
India hosted the FIFA Under-17 World Cup in October and the tournament was a resounding success, bringing in record attendances for an Under-17 tournament. The tournament was well received throughout, with England going on to become champions.
The Indian side that participated in the World Cup also gave a good account of them and were unlucky that they had nothing to show for their efforts. Jeakson Singh scored India's first ever goal in any form of a World Cup when he headed in against Colombia in the second group match.
2. Indian senior team on fire
The Indian senior side, under Stephen Constantine, has scaled new heights in the past 12- months and secured qualification for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup to be held in the United Arab Emirates. The Men in Blue went unbeaten throughout the year, winning seven matches and drawing two.
With a bunch of exciting players coming to the fray, the Indian fans can go into the upcoming year with optimism and hope that the national team can achieve even more.
1. There is still hope for Indian football
The dream of every Indian football fans is to see the nation playing in a senior World Cup and one day that might be achieved if Indian football continues to develop at the same rate. 2017 was a successful year for the nation and the players will be looking to continue that form for the next 12-months too.
The senior team is foraging on the right path under Constantine while the Under-17 players are now gaining experience playing for Indian Arrows in the I-League. The future is bright for football in India as we head into another year.
