As a kid the first sports I played was football, later on though I played many more. I have a special liking for football because of that. Now days we do not see kids playing football in grounds as much as in 80s and 90s. I always wish India to play in either world cup or Olympic as I know on my current birth India can not win.
It was in 1994 football world cup, I asked my teacher why India is not playing. He told me India has not qualified to play in world cup and it will take 50 more years for Indian football to play in a world cup. Then I went on and checked what India’s rank in football is and it was 123. I followed it up for a year or two and it was between 121 and 123 always. I thought, yes we are ranked 123 and how can we expect to play in a tournament of 32 teams.
Then slowly I became a cricket fan. I rarely played football and very rarely watched or followed Indian football. But suddenly my interest grew up in 2006 world cup. I watched almost all matched but then also I did not follow Indian football. In 2007, India won Nehru cup and I came to know that it’s first time India has won Nehru cup. A tournament played in India and India had won it for the first time, I was shocked to know it. India repeated the feet again by winning the cup in 2009. Great, it was not fluke in 2007, the team has repeated it. Congratulation team India, well done.
It’s time to check whether my dream of watching India play world cup will come true or not. India’s rank is 153 now, 30 ranks below than 1994. I am disappointed; I have to take birth again to see India play in world cup.
I asked myself why India is doing so badly though it’s a well known fact.
Infrastructure is very poor for football.
Numbers of team playing football are very less.
We do not have a Hero till now, the one we all know is Bhutia (no offence meant but he is not good enough to play in second division English clubs).
Thanks to our Government, we do not get to watch India’s football matches in Doordarshan or DD sports.
Thanks to our current sports minister, Mr. Gill, rather than doing something for the sport he criticizes our team and its foreign coach.
Thanks to all the parents in India who do not tell their kids that there is a sport called football which is livelier, energetic and less time consuming. More than all this they do not tell them the money involved in football, you can earn more than a CEO of MNCs.
Money
The list can go on and on.
All I can do from my side is start praying to God to fulfill my dream.
also I did not follow Indian football. In 2007, 