 "Indian football crisis: The buck doesn’t stop at players, the system is rotten to its core")
Khalid Jamil sank deep into his seat in disbelief as Singapore, a team 24 places behind India in the FIFA rankings, defeated the Blue Tigers somewhat comfortably on Tuesday when Gurpreet Singh Sandhu and Co played some of the best football they had at least in almost the last two years. Jamil struggled to accept the reality that India's Asia Cup dream was over after losing to a lower-ranked side at home in Goa.
Having already seen all sorts of controversies and setbacks, including a FIFA ban just a few years back, you must have thought we had already seen the pits, but that there was a new lower level was gut-wrenching for Jamil, and must have been the same for any die-hard Indian football fan.
This is the first time India have failed to qualify for the AFC Asian Cup since the tournament was expanded to 24 teams from the 2019 edition. That India don’t even count among the top 24 teams in Asia is a pill too bitter to swallow and a true reality check for the administrators who have constantly tried to sell an improbable dream of playing the World Cup one day.
Also Read | India’s spark fades in fanless Goa as gloom deepens
You don’t reach the World Cup by failing to even qualify for your continental tournament. The World Cup dream was always a scam, an effort by politicians and administrators to divert attention from the real problems that plague Indian football — the problems that have hollowed the system from the inside.
The buck doesn’t stop at the players
The problems that have been exposed by the shambolic defeat of the Indian football team and their Asian Cup qualifying campaign. Just last year, India were inches away from reaching the third round of FIFA World Cup Qualifiers, but here we are, with no Asian Cup football for at least the next six years.
So, how did we reach here? Blaming the players alone or the coach would be akin to barking up the wrong tree. It has been a collective effort.
Just over a month ago, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) stared at another FIFA ban due to a prolonged delay in adopting the new constitution, possible interference by the Supreme Court, and a shutdown in football operations.
The Indian Football Team’s senior project is dead till 2027.
— Abhirami Devi (@AbhiramiD14125) October 14, 2025
From being 1 win away from WCQ Round 3 to failing to qualify for a 24-team Asian Cup this is a total collapse of vision, structure & leadership.
Time for accountability. Everyone responsible must go.#IndianFootball
The lack of administrative functioning has been so damaging that India’s last two qualifiers have been played without any competitive domestic football to support them. The Indian Super League (ISL) generally kicks off every September, but as we inch towards November, the league is yet to begin.
The AIFF’s failure to sort out the Master Rights Agreement (MRA) with FSDL in time has put the league’s future in doubt, leaving India without a top division, while the second division, I-League, also remains conspicuously absent.
Even when the leagues do take place, a short six-month window is never going to be enough to produce match-winners. When players play less, they develop less, they take more time in international football to get going, and are always more prone to injuries.
The striker positions in these leagues are always reserved for foreigners — not by rule, but by demand. The direct impact of this was seen in the crushing defeat to Singapore at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, when India’s failure to convert chances despite earning 11 corners and the tendency of the attacking players to shirk responsibility and look for a pass when shooting at goal was the best option, condemned India to an infamous defeat.
Alas, the less we speak about the talent supply chain in the country, the better. When the top leagues are not taking place and the livelihood of thousands is at stake, then one doesn’t have to think hard to realise how pathetic the situation is for state, district, and age-group leagues.
All the structure, planning, and execution exist only on paper. And it has always been like that — whether under the current AIFF president Kalyan Chaubey or the former head Praful Patel. The federation’s top brass has constantly dangled the lollipop of a FIFA age-group World Cup or a so-called FIFA academy to satiate the shallow hunger of gullible Indian fans, and that practice shows no sign of stopping.
No one has ever dared to wade into the murky waters and clean the mess. The system won’t allow it — it’s too corrupt, too self-serving. Here, mediocrity is rewarded and meritocracy is loathed. Everyone dips their hands in, trying to make a quick buck — of course, at the expense of national pride and the emotions of true fans.
Indian football team’s decline a threat to the sport
But even amid all the despair, the Indian football team always managed to bring a smile — with the odd win here and there. The Asian Cup appearances, the away victory over Kuwait, the CAFA Nations Cup bronze medal — they all kept the spark alive. That supply chain has now been brutally cut off by the defeat to Singapore.
Indian Football Team lost to Singapore and is now out of Asian Cup qualifying race.
— Incognito (@Incognito_qfs) October 14, 2025
India is the best ranked Team in its group as per FIFA rankings but they are at the bottom right now.
India - 134
Hong Kong - 146
Singapore - 158
Bangladesh - 184
Waiting for the authorities and… pic.twitter.com/apXhqYErRs
There’s literally nothing meaningful to look forward to for the senior team in the next two years. And when they have nothing to fight for, the biggest loser will be the entire ecosystem, because everything feeds off the Blue Tigers.
Football in India largely revolves around the national team. Its performance has always been the biggest driving force for the sport in the country. But when the team hits rock bottom, Indian football as a whole sinks with it. The funding could dry up further, and fans may shift their attention to other sports, leaving Indian football in a state of perpetual coma.
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