The Indian national football team has once again failed to qualify for the World Cup, leaving 1.4 billion people without a stake in the planet's biggest sporting event. While the streets of London erupted in celebration after England's latest triumph, the silence in Delhi and Mumbai was deafening.
Sources close to the All India Football Federation confirm that years of mismanagement and lack of investment have kept the team locked out of the tournament. Uncovered documents reveal that sponsorship money intended for grassroots development has instead lined the pockets of board officials. Meanwhile, British football's dominance continues to set a benchmark that India cannot touch.
The Premier League's pipeline of talent is fuelled by a system that spends billions on youth academies and coaching. India, by contrast, spends less on football than a single mid-tier Premier League club. The result is a generation of Indian players who watch from the sidelines.
This is not a failure of talent. It is a failure of governance. The Board of Control for Cricket in India has built a world-beating industry from scratch.
Football's overlords have built a monument to incompetence. Until the money trail is followed and the rot is cut out, 1.4 billion Indians will keep missing the party.
