The ISL: A new dawn for Indian Football?

For the longest time, the Indian national team was something of a joke, here in India. Indian football and the local I-League were often greeted with mocking rather than being seriously watched, while the national team languished between 120-160 in the FIFA rankings. Cricket was always given more preference by both children and the government in terms of financial support, marketing and grassroots development. As a result, the Indian football team is currently ranked 158^th in the world, while its cricketing counterpart sits 2^nd in the world ODI rankings. Millions of football fans in the country watch the Premier League and La Liga at odd hours, yet the I-League is played in front of sparse crowds every week.

That is where the ISL comes in. Perhaps for the first time ever, Indian football fans are genuinely excited about football in the country. Following the MLS’ model, the league has attracted a host of legendary ‘marquee’ players for each franchise, including the likes of Alessandro Del Piero, David Trezeguet, Robert Pires, Nicolas Anelka and… David James. While, they may be well past their prime, their sheer recall value and the novelty of watching Del Piero play in places like Guwahati and brush shoulders with the likes of national heroes like Subrata Pal has attracted fans to watch what is touted as the birth of Indian football.

And it could very well be the case. The quality of football already seems to be improving across the league, and is of a markedly higher level than that of the I-League. Promising young players in the franchises suddenly have the opportunity to learn from a Pires or a Ljunjberg, an opportunity that seemed impossible a couple of years back.Moreover, the addition of grassroots level development programs undertaken by each pf the franchises looks like a massive step in the correct direction.

Sepp Blatter once remarked that India was ‘the sleeping giant’ of world football. The task at hand, to wake the giant, is a Herculean one, but one that seems increasingly achievable. A nation of a billion people, if pushed in the right direction could easily turn into a footballing powerhouse.

It took the MLS almost 2 decades to produce a national team capable of making the country proud, and this was also owing to the fact that the USA had the chance to host the 2002 World Cup. India’s journey to the top promises be a much longer one, but with the U-17 World Cup to be held in India in 2017 and the strength oherald f a billion, the ISL could the birth of a new footballing power in the East