Indian Football in Crisis: A Sleeping Giant at the Edge of Collapse
Indian football is facing one of its most troubling periods in recent memory, as structural issues, leadership voids, and poor on-field performance raise serious questions about the sport’s future in the country. Once described by former FIFA President Sepp Blatter as a “sleeping giant,” India now finds itself in a deep slump, riddled with problems from the national team down to its domestic league system.
At the core of the crisis is the absence of a head coach for the men’s national team, paired with the crumbling state of the Indian Super League (ISL), the country’s premier football competition. The ISL, which once held the promise of modernising Indian football and drawing international attention, now teeters on the brink due to a dispute between the All India Football Federation (AIFF) and its commercial partner.
Veteran striker Sunil Chhetri, India’s football icon and one of the most capped players in the world, recently voiced his concerns publicly. “Everybody in the Indian football ecosystem is worried, hurt, scared about the uncertainty we are faced with,” he wrote on X. His emotional plea highlights the depth of the disarray that threatens the future of professional football in India.
Chhetri, who briefly retired from international football earlier this year at age 40, returned to the squad due to a glaring lack of young talent ready to fill his shoes. Despite being past his prime, he remains the team’s top scorer and one of its most dependable players—a worrying sign for a nation of 1.4 billion people.
The results speak volumes. India’s national team has slipped to 133rd in the FIFA rankings, its lowest in nearly a decade, and has managed just one win in its last 16 matches. The recent 1-0 defeat to Hong Kong in Asian Cup qualifying, a nation with a population less than 1% of India’s, further underscored the magnitude of the decline.
With no clear roadmap from the AIFF, coaching instability, and a stagnating domestic league, the “sleeping giant” risks slipping into a prolonged coma unless urgent reforms are implemented.
