India’s football governance crisis deepens as Asian Cup qualification fails
With the national team ranked 138th and the Indian Super League in administrative limbo, experts warn that reaching World Cup standard remains a distant prospect despite government interest in a 'sports passport'.
India’s failure to qualify for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup has significantly diminished the likelihood of the national team participating in the 2030 and 2034 FIFA World Cups. Currently ranked 138th globally, the Indian national football team faces a governance and structural crisis that has left its international prospects in doubt. While the country’s population of 1.45 billion represents a massive potential market, systemic issues within the All India Football Federation (AIFF) and the broader football ecosystem have prevented meaningful progress.
The administrative instability within the AIFF has had direct consequences for the Indian Super League (ISL), the country’s premier domestic competition. Negotiations between the AIFF and Reliance Industries to renew their partnership stalled in 2025, coinciding with a Supreme Court case regarding the federation’s constitution. Consequently, the partnership was not renewed. Under new management led by club owners, the ISL has yet to finalise a broadcaster or announce fixtures for the current season, creating an environment of uncertainty that previously forced some teams to suspend player salaries in 2024.
Structural deficiencies in youth development further compound the challenge. Lalnghinglova Hmar, Mizoram’s sports minister and an AIFF executive committee member, highlighted the disparity in competitive exposure between Indian and regional peers. He noted that South Korean and Japanese youth players compete in over 40 matches per season, whereas most Indian under-15 players participate in only 12 to 15 competitive games annually. Hmar emphasised that the country is short on qualified coaches and that many states lack even basic youth leagues, making it difficult to compete internationally.
Ravi Puskur, CEO of FC Goa, provided a stark timeline for potential recovery, estimating that cleaning up the system would require a full four-year cycle, followed by another 20 to 25 years to reach World Cup standards. This assessment underscores the gap between fan aspiration and institutional reality. The disconnect was illustrated by Gourav Roy, an Indian software engineer who travelled over 9,650 kilometres across the United States to attend the 2026 FIFA World Cup semifinals and final, a journey undertaken in lieu of seeing his national team compete.
In response to these challenges, the Indian government is considering a "sports passport" initiative to allow Indian-origin athletes to represent the country. The proposal has been backed by AIFF leadership as a means to bolster the national team, but it remains pending legislative approval. Meanwhile, India is bidding to host the 2036 Olympics, a move that could drive infrastructure investment but requires immediate and coordinated reform across state associations, corporate stakeholders, and the federation to be effective.
