A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to visit Kochi, an important city in Kerala. During the visit, I used to wander out in the evening in search of delicacies to munch on. One particular day, while wandering outside, I could hear thunderous roars from the stadium nearby. Being a regular follower of cricket matches, I wondered how I missed such a big match and that too in my close vicinity. With much fascination and a tiny bit of hope, I headed straight for the ticket counter only to be disappointed. The disappointment made me look around for other ways to get a glimpse of the superstars. It was at this moment that I realised there were yellow flags hoisted almost everywhere.
Yes, much to my amusement, the roars, the flags and the jam packed stadium were all there for only one reason, Football! The Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kaloor, Kochi is home to one of the loudest crowds in world football, the fans of Kerala Blasters. Roll back a few years and crowds this big were only spotted in cricket stadiums in India. Today, football has started to draw in followers from across the country, but it is to be noted that the roots of football in India go a long way back and Indian football once had its glory days. With a new road map being prepared by the Indian Football Federation for the sport’s development, let us re-live the past.
It would be rather impossible for people in general to believe that the “Durand Cup” is the third oldest football tournament in the world and the oldest football tournament in Asia. Founded in 1888 by India’s then foreign secretary, Mortimer Durand, the tournament was first held in Shimla. During its initial years, the tournament was more of a military affair. In the coming years, football clubs such as Sarada FC, Calcutta FC, Mohun Bagan, etc. were established. A couple of decades later, the first breakthrough was achieved in 1911, when an Indian team won a major national tournament. Mohun Bagan beat East Yorkshire Regiment two goals to one to claim the IFA shield. The moment is etched in history books as it not only meant winning the tournament but was also a symbol in the fight for independence. An all Indian side beating the English men in their own game would have been worth the sight.
Later, the success of several Indian football clubs abroad led to the formation of the All India Football Federation in the year 1937. India’s first major international tournament was the 1948 London Olympics. However, the team’s efforts went in vain as they were defeated by France and hence couldn’t progress further in the tournament. The Indian football contingent did not return empty-handed as they were widely appreciated for their sporting mannerisms and hence brought with them respect to our nation. One of the most notable instances from the period includes captain Talimeren Ao’s witty reply to the press when quizzed about playing without boots. His statement was thus, “Well, you see, we play football in India, whereas you play bootball’. Four years later, the games held in Helsinki was one to forget for team India as they were defeated by a 10 goal margin to the eventual finalists Yugoslavia. This is still the heaviest loss in terms of goals conceded by Team India in major international tournaments.
It was in the 1956 Melbourne Olympics that India created history by reaching the semifinals of the tournament. Progressing through a bye in the first round, India faced Australia in their next round and defeated them 4-2 to book a spot in the semifinals, where they lost to Yugoslavia. India, also lost the bronze medal match against Bulgaria, finally settling for a fourth place finish. Finally, the 1960 Rome Olympics were the last appearance made by the Indian football team on the Olympic stage. In its last appearance, India once again made headlines by playing out a 1-1 draw against mighty France. Although not making it out of the tough group, India surely gave a fight to all the other teams, especially Hungary, who were the eventual bronze medallists. The 1950 FIFA World Cup was another major international tournament that India had the opportunity to play in owing to an automatic qualification in response to the withdrawal of all of their scheduled opponents. However, India did not participate in the event since the All India Football Federation gave more importance to the Olympics than the FIFA World Cup.
The Golden era of Indian football is considered to be the period from 1951 to 1962. During this period, India won the Asian Games twice, won the quadrangular cup four times, and also became the first Asian team to reach the semifinals of the Olympics. One of the major highlights post-independence for Indian football was Mohun Bagan’s winning the IFA shield in 1978. India also won gold medals in the SAF games of both 1984 and 1987, the latter held in Delhi and the former held in Calcutta. India also won the inaugural SAARC cup in 1993, held at Lahore, and finished runner-up in Colombo two years later. By 1997, the competition was renamed as the SAFF Cup, and India went on to win both the 1997 and 1999 editions. A major boost to Indian football was the creation of the first ever national league by the AIFF in 1996.
Indian football began to gain greater recognition during the period from 2000 to 2010. Winning the LG Cup in Vietnam under the then coach, Stephen Constantine, was India’s first victory in a football tournament outside the sub-continent since 1974. In August 2007, India again made history under coach Bob Houghton as India won the Nehru Cup for the first time by beating Syria 1-0. Later, India went on to win the 2008 AFC Challenge Cup. The following year, India retained the Nehru Cup again, beating Syria, but this time on penalties. 2011 was also a good year considering India took part in the AFC Asian Cup for the first time in 27 years. Mohun Bagan has been an integral part of Indian football history, with the club being the first Indian club to qualify for the second round of AFC Champions League qualifiers, when they defeated a club from Singapore. They also made history when they beat South China AA of Hong Kong by a margin of four goals, thereby entering the record books as the club with the highest margin of victory on foreign soil.
Inspite of I-league being played around every year it was with the introduction of Indian Super League that made an impact and started gathering crowds. The league, founded on October 21st, 2013, had its first season played in 2014. During the first three seasons, the league operated without official recognition from the Asian Football Confederation. The league campaign lasted for 2 to 3 months and had matches on a daily basis until it earned recognition from the AFC. Currently, the league has 11 teams, and the campaign extends up to 5 months. Both the Indian Super League and the Indian I-league are recognised as equally important by the AIFF and, as such, both leagues will run in parallel to each other. Additionally, both leagues will have equal participation in continental AFC competitions. Talks of merging the two leagues have been doing the rounds for quite a while now. Though merging has its peaks, there are also other factors that should be considered. Apart from the wider set of audiences that it gathers, the Indian Super League has also romped in superstars from across the globe. This will help in getting an analysis of the Indian footballers with the standards of the best footballers. Quality players who have played football amongst the best will be able to share their valuable insights with the younger generation of stars.
With an aim to make India a power house in football, various organisations have been conducting grassroot level programmes. The Reliance Foundation is one such organisation that prioritises the upliftment of football amongst children. It is a daunting task for football to reach the heights conquered by cricket in India, but with patience and perseverance, anything can be achieved. Indian cricket has long been here and the talent pool never dries up. Had the Indian football teams received equal recognition as cricket teams in India, the picture of Indian football would have been different. Most Indians do not know a regular forward in the Indian football team but do know a tier 2 division cricketer. With the introduction of the ISL, such scenarios have changed and footballers are now approached for autographs and selfies just like cricketers. The day that cricketers and footballers share the same amount of pay, accolades, and popularity will be celebrated as the rebirth of Indian football.
The All India Football Federation surely has plans up its sleeve. With its new road map to be released after the Qatar World Cup, football fans are indeed waiting for some big changes. The road map will feature grassroots level programmes, infrastructure development, exposure to international matches, league development, women’s football, etc., which will help Indian football reign supreme in the coming years. All football fans are waiting for the day when India realises why FIFA referred to them as “sleeping giants”.