Why is Indian football ranked so low?

Decoding what ails the sport and what should be done for its upliftment on an international level

- Doel Sengupta

In a country where cricket is considered to be God's game, other sports fall far behind in fervour and popularity. This creates a vicious cycle of disappointments, further impacting sports and the players. In such a scenario, Indian football has seen its fair share of upheavals.

Indian football has come a long way since Indian players played barefoot against France in the London Olympics in 1948. Then in 1950 India managed to qualify for the FIFA finals but had to finally withdraw.

India is currently ranked 126 in FIFA world rankings. The team's best show was in 1996 when it was ranked at 94, spear-headed by Bhaichung Bhutia and IM Vij ayan.

while football does not share the same popularity as cricket in India, experts say that there is a glimmer of hope.

India's poor show at the 2026 world Cup qualifiers after being ousted in the second round led to the exit of coach Igor Stimac. Is it just a lack of vision that plagues Indian football or are the reasons more deeprooted?

Former Indian football goalkeeper Henry Menezes, who has played against Sao Paulo, Poland, Bulgaria, and Jordan in his time, says, "India is ranked low in International football because of not leveraging untapped potential. Rankings have nothing to do with performance. If we play more international matches, we will better our rankings. Performance matters. Ability should be honoured, victories should be revered."