FIFA World Cup: The Indian Perspective

FIFA World Cup is here and the whole world is caught in football fever. World's top 32 teams are in South Africa to play for the ultimate glory.

Here in India, we are all exited about it but one thing every Indian is gonna miss, for sure, is an Indian team in the World Cup. It is not unusual though. India has never played in the Football World Cup finals. The biggest reason cited for this has always been the lack of public and corporate support. I too thought that the public support was lacking as seen during most I-league games.

But as the world cup started, India turned into a completely different nation. It seemed as if Football was our National game. My Twitter Timeline was full of World Cup related tweets. Some tweeted how excited they were about the world cup, others tweeted about their favorite teams and yet others about why India wasn't in the World Cup. It was almost forgotten that next day India vs Zimbabwe T20 Cricket series is going to start. All were caught in a Football Frenzy. When the first match Kicked Off, I was even more surprised to see my Mom, Uncle and Auntie, who are Cricket crazy people, sitting with me and asking me about the rules of football and other questions about football. They even watched almost whole of the match, leaving at 9 PM to watch their favorite show 'Desi Girl'.

This all is nothing else but a hint that the much needed public support and passion for football in India is slowly but surely,
increasing.

What next? Well, what is needed now is the very important media support. Indian media only talks football during the world cup. No Indian news channel covers India&'s domestic football league, the I-league. I always have to look for latest I-league results and standings on some British sites. The Indian media can play a huge role by not just increasing public support but also by bringing the corporate support to the game.

If all goes well then, if not for Brazil 2014, we may be able to qualify for the 2018 World Cup. It would be even more special to watch the World Cup with India in it. Until then, lets be satisfied with what we are getting. Enjoy the World Cup!

JAMIE SIDHU