For a nation of 1.4 billion people, the failure to qualify for the football World Cup is not just a sporting tragedy; it is a damning indictment of fiscal priorities. The Indian football team's latest exit from the qualifying rounds is a predictable result of chronic underinvestment in grassroots infrastructure and over-reliance on a handful of star players.
The government's spending on football development remains paltry, barely 0.01% of GDP, while subsidies on fertiliser and fuel inflate the fiscal deficit. This is a classic case of misallocation of capital, a market inefficiency writ large.
The All India Football Federation's balance sheet tells a sorry tale of mismanagement and lack of accountability. Central bank policies, while steady on monetary tightening, have done little to spur private sector investment in sports. The result: capital flight from football to cricket, a sport that offers better returns on investment.
Until India treats football like a viable asset class, its World Cup dreams will remain a speculative bubble, destined to burst every four years.
