When Lionel Messi set foot in India, it felt less like a football match and more like a national spectacle. Stadiums overflowed, fans travelled across cities, crores A few days later, the contrast became starker.
Players from the Indian Super League, India’s top-tier football competition, made public pleas, about delayed salaries, uncertainty, and the fragile economics of the sport they represent. were spent on logistics, sponsorships and branding, and yet, not a single seat went empty.
For a brief moment, Indian football conversations were dominated by awe, celebration, and predictable outrage over the money involved. Critics questioned the scale of spending, comparing it with the chronic financial stress within domestic football.
The two moments, placed so close together, exposed a deeper truth. The problem is not Messi, nor the crores spent on global superstars.
The real failure lies in India’s inability to build football as a sustainable, nationwide ecosystem, one where domestic players don’t have to beg for stability while the nation proves, time and again, that it will show up in millions for the game it claims to love.
Criticising the money spent on such events or comparing it with the financial struggles of Indian football only distracts from the real issue. If we continue to fixate on such comparisons, we will keep missing the larger point: India has failed to build football as a nationwide ecosystem.
The recent public appeal by Indian footballers over the uncertainty surrounding the Indian Super League (ISL) is not merely about the absence of a commercial partner. It is a symptom of a deeper, long-standing structural problem that Indian football has refused to address.
The Myth That India Doesn’t Care About Football
The argument that football lacks an audience in India does not hold up to scrutiny. Indian fans consistently rank among the most engaged viewers of global football leagues and international tournaments.
Stadium turnouts and digital viewership for international fixtures and exhibition matches have repeatedly demonstrated football’s reach in the country. India’s appetite for global football is already proven.
The English Premier League alone reaches over 7 crore Indian viewers each season, while competitions like UEFA Champions League and La Liga consistently draw millions on TV and digital platforms.
The audience exists at scale, the failure lies not in fandom, but in converting this viewership into a strong domestic football ecosystem. India does not suffer from a lack of football fans. It suffers from the absence of a system that channels this interest into sustained support for Indian football.
Grassroots: The Missing Foundation
Successful footballing nations are built from the ground up. Strong school systems, accessible local academies, trained coaches, and clear progression pathways form the backbone of sustainable football ecosystems. In India, grassroots football remains fragmented and uneven.
Youth academies are largely privatised, access is limited, and coaching infrastructure remains inadequate. Without a strong grassroots foundation, domestic leagues are expected to deliver outcomes without the necessary pipeline — an expectation that is fundamentally unrealistic.
What China, Japan, and Other Minnows Did Differently
Japan was a football minnow until the early 1990s. The government-backed launch of the J.League in 1993 focused on youth academies, school integration, coach education, and club licensing. Football was embedded into education and local communities. Today, Japan is a consistent FIFA World Cup qualifier, exports players to Europe, and ranks among Asia’s strongest footballing nations.
South Korea invested heavily after the 1990s in grassroots scouting, elite sports schools, and long-term national training centres, culminating in co-hosting the FIFA World Cup. The impact was historic—a semi-final finish in 2002—and sustained success since, including regular World Cup appearances and global stars playing in Europe.
Morocco offers perhaps the most striking recent example. After years of underachievement, it created the Mohammed VI Football Academy, aligned clubs with national technical philosophy, invested in modern infrastructure, and prioritised youth development. The result: a historic semi-final finish at the FIFA World Cup, redefining African football on the global stage.
Even China, despite uneven results, rolled out a national football reform plan linking schools, universities, and professional clubs, with thousands of football-focused schools introduced. While success at the elite level remains a work in progress, grassroots participation and infrastructure have expanded significantly.
The common thread is clear: football did not grow because icons visited—icons came after systems were built. Strategic policy, grassroots investment, coaching depth, and institutional continuity transformed these nations. India’s challenge is not a lack of fans, money, or passion—but the absence of a coherent, long-term football policy that treats the sport as an ecosystem, not an event.
Why Commercial Interest Remains Fragile
Commercial partners do not shy away from football as a sport; they shy away from uncertainty. Inconsistent calendars, unclear governance structures, and the absence of a long-term roadmap make Indian football a high-risk proposition. Markets respond to stability and clarity. Without these, commercial engagement remains episodic rather than sustained.
The Human Cost of Structural Neglect
When professional footballers are compelled to publicly appeal for stability, it reflects a deeper failure of the system. Athletes should be discussing performance and progression, not basic livelihood security. The emotional and professional toll of uncertainty reveals how casually non-cricket sporting careers continue to be treated in India.
The Logical Take
Blaming superstar footballers or the money they generate in India is a convenient distraction. People show up for icons, and sponsors follow crowds — that reality is neither new nor unfair. Comparing one-off spectacles with a neglected domestic ecosystem only obscures the real issue.
The real conversation must centre on grassroots development, coherent policy support, and the deliberate building of India as a footballing nation. Until football is treated as a long-term national priority with a visible, supported, and stable football community, crises like this will continue to repeat.
With over 210 nations registered with FIFA, compared to 193 member states of the United Nations, football today speaks to a larger global community than formal diplomacy ever could. For India, aspiring to be a credible global voice, remaining on the periphery of the world’s most universal sport is a strategic blind spot. A coherent national football policy—rooted in grassroots development, institutional support, and long-term vision—is no longer optional, but necessary.
Editor’s Note: This article is part of The Logical Take, a commentary section of The Logical Indian. The views expressed are based on research, constitutional values, and the author’s analysis of publicly reported events. They are intended to encourage informed public discourse and do not seek to target or malign any community, institution, or individual.
