Yes you read that right; it is possible that India lost a highly elusive chance at being a part of the football world cup! Just to clarify we are talking about India and it is the FIFA that we refer to. So how you wonder? Did India suddenly get a lot better at the game or did every other country start sucking at football? Worry not. The world order is still intact: The South Americans and Europeans still rule the roost, the United States still plays a completely different game and calls it football and India’s world ranking in football is still utterly abysmal.

They are talking about the FIFA Futsal World Cup

FIFA Futsal World Cup

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Futsal is an indoor version of football; with both sides playing five player each (including the goalkeeper). You could say it’s the T20 version of football. The FIFA Futsal World Cup will be held later this year in Colombia, and India could potentially have been a part of the event. This surmise is based on the fact that Vietnam managed to qualify (its world ranking is 144th) and that Solomon Islands also managed to qualify (ranked 193rd in the world). If you’re wondering, the world’s biggest democracy ranks at No 147 according to the latest FIFA rankings.

 

(Top L-R) Indias midfielder Gouramangi

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And here are some fun facts about football in India – in the past we have won two gold medals at the Asian Games and even won a Silver at the Asian Cup. We actually qualified for the actual World Cup once because in 1950, everyone else in our group – Burma, Indonesia and the Philippines – had withdrawn. It’s another story that the team never made it to Rio because of official blundering. Given such stellar past performance, surely we would have made it to the Futsal World Cup?

 

The officials are at it again

figo

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Premier Futsal is an 8 team event that has played fixtures in many Indian cities such as Mumbai (where Portuguese football legend Luis Figo in Mumbai launched the event), Delhi, Hyderabad, Chennai etc.  Not only did the All India Football Federation (AIFF) have nothing to do with the event, the national governing body of football actually warned state football associations to stay away from it. Apparently, according to Kushal Das, the AIFF general secretary, if there is to be a Futsal tournament, it is the AIFF that will conduct it.

Apparently the time is not right for Futsal in India yet and the eight-team Premier Futsal event is not officially recognised. The officials are still working on a plan to develop football in India (they have been at it for a mere 66 years and obviously need some more time), Futsal will just have to wait its turn.

IMG Reliance Football Sponsorship

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And there is the small matter of keeping the sponsors happy as well – IMG-Reliance currently has the marketing rights not only to football but also beach soccer and Futsal; so when an event is introduced in India, it will only be via the official sponsor. Being able to participate in a prestigious world event or be part of an exciting new format that came to India, are not really that important.

Author – Reena Daruwalla

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