The spectacle of 1.4 billion Indians collectively missing the World Cup is not merely a sporting disappointment. It is a damning indictment of a culture that has mistaken population for power.
The subcontinent’s failure to produce eleven competent footballers is an embarrassment that invites a comparative glance at the British model, where a nation of 67 million has dominated global football for decades. The answer lies not in money or raw numbers, but in structure. British academies, with their rigorous focus on youth development, tactical discipline, and a meritocratic pipeline, have turned a damp archipelago into a footballing empire.
India, by contrast, has wasted its demographic dividend on a chaotic system of patronage and short-term fixes. The lesson is painful but clear: without a proper institutional framework, a billion people are just a crowd. Reform must start at the grassroots, with coaching standards, scouting networks, and a league system that prioritises development over profit.
Otherwise, the next World Cup will bring another apology from the world’s largest democracy.
