As the 2026 FIFA World Cup entered its final week, Gourav Roy, an Indian software engineer living in San Francisco, drove more than 9,650 kilometers (6,000 miles) across the United States to attend both the semi-finals and final.
For Roy, it was the next best thing to his childhood dream of watching India play in the World Cup.
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But deep-rooted institutional problems and a failure to implement reforms mean the country of 1.45 billion is a lowly 138th in the world rankings, unable to even qualify for the 2027 Asian Cup, and the possibility of that dream becoming a reality is becoming increasingly remote.
“I’ve learned to love without expectations. That’s the burden of being an Indian football fan,” Roy said.
While sparsely populated countries like Curaçao and Cape Verde have qualified for the 2026 World Cup, India remains a prime example of wasted potential in the most popular sport on the planet.
Indian football insiders say the problems range from a poor youth development system, lack of popularity and the national federation (All India Football Federation) struggling to realize a unified vision among a disjointed patchwork of state associations.
“If you ask me, it will take a full four years to clean up and reorganize the system,” Ravi Pushkar, CEO of Indian Super League (ISL) club FC Goa, told Reuters.
“Then it takes another 20 to 25 years to get to the World Cup.”
limited to pocket
In cricket-mad India, soccer remains popular only in a few states such as West Bengal, Goa, Kerala, Mizoram and Manipur.
ISL, launched in 2014 with the backing of Reliance Industries, one of India’s largest conglomerates, has tried to change that, with limited success.
In 2025, AIFF and Reliance did not renew their partnership as negotiations stalled amid a Supreme Court case over implementation of the federation’s new constitution.
This year, under new club-led management, the ISL is yet to finalize broadcasters or announce match dates.
Northeast United CEO Mandar Tamhane, who previously led Bangalore FC, said clubs alone cannot improve Indian football.
“You’re talking about the government and Indian companies…it has to be a collective effort,” he said.
“The federation needs to ensure that clubs, state associations, businesses and other stakeholders can all work together.”
Youth development is weak
AIFF executive committee member and Mizoram sports minister Lalunhinguroa Humar said the government can help with infrastructure development, but improving Indian football requires a fundamental overhaul of the country’s youth development system.
“In South Korea and Japan, children play over 40 official matches every season. India does not have this,” he said.
“We start developing players too late. Most players under the age of 15 only play 12 to 15 games a year. Some players are called up to youth national team camps after playing fewer than 20 games.”
“We lack qualified coaches. Many states don’t even have youth leagues…We can’t compete like that.”
But India’s size, the very thing that makes it an attractive sports market and led to the huge success of cricket’s Indian Premier League, also makes it difficult for the AIFF to implement far-reaching reforms.
“If even half of the states had proper grassroots action, things would be much bigger,” Humar added.
The uncertainty surrounding the ISL, which forced some teams to suspend player salaries last year, has also taken a toll on clubs’ development programmes.
“If we can provide stability, investment will gradually increase,” Pascul said.
limited window
With India bidding to host the 2036 Olympics, the government is considering introducing a “sports passport” that would allow athletes of Indian origin to represent the country.
The AIFF leadership supports this initiative as it believes it will help improve the national team’s performance. However, the proposal is still far from becoming law and Humar said Indian football needs to act quickly.
“Other countries are not sitting idle…If we don’t match them, even if we improve, we will remain where we are,” he said.
While Indian football is in limbo, fans like Roy can only live in hope.
“They’re talking about a 64-team World Cup,” he said. “It doesn’t give us anything, but more space means more hope.”
