Indian football in 2025: Supreme Court hearings — 16; matches played — 12; humiliation — endless

On Tuesday night, as Haiti reached the World Cup without ever playing on home turf and tiny Curaçao celebrated the unthinkable, India managed the all-too-predictable: an embarrassing loss to Bangladesh, the first in 22 years. Moving like a buffering livestream, India were so lethargic that head coach Khalid Jamil might as well have thrown the jersey to Orry and they couldn’t have played any worse.

As if this isn’t a bleak enough scenario, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) got a reality check that no one is willing to put money into Indian football. Not on their terms, at least. So, the domestic game remains in a state of coma.

The Indian football team players take on Bangladesh. (AIFF)

Guaranteed payment

A senior executive involved in the sport blamed the current situation on the AIFF’s ‘laziness’.

For 15 years, the federation kept getting Rs 50 crore annually as a part of its agreement with the Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL), a Reliance Industries subsidiary, that will end on December 8.

One of AIFF’s key demands for the new bidders for the Indian Super League was that it should be paid Rs 37.5 crore — or 5 percent of the revenue generated — per year for the duration of the contract. The sum is intriguing, for it means that the federation is valuing all other properties — including the national teams — at just Rs 12.5 crore, going by the earlier annual payment of Rs 50 crore.

The prospective investors argue that this means the AIFF gets guaranteed payment while taking minimal risk while they’ll have to shoulder the losses, if any. The FSDL, in its renewal offer, gave the AIFF 14 percent equity while doing away with fixed annual payments. This, an official said, would force the AIFF to actively work towards revenue generation rather than just outsourcing the job.

Decision-making power

One of the biggest criticisms of the AIFF since 2010 has been that it surrendered all rights to FSDL in exchange of yearly payouts. The FSDL, meanwhile, enjoyed most of the power and decision-making authority.

Now, the AIFF is trying to course-correct, but going to the other extreme. It still demands hefty annual fees but wants to retain a substantial part of decision-making power. This, however, wasn’t rooted in reality. The AIFF needs investors, who want to have a bigger say in how the sport, at least the top tier, is run. The federation overplayed its hand on this issue — or willingly ignored the ground reality — and now finds itself cornered.

Indian football team players ahead of their trip to Saudi Arabia to play Afghanistan in World Cup Qualifiers. (PHOTO: Indian Football via X)

This becomes a tricky issue as a private entity can’t be held accountable for its decisions in the same way a government-recognised federation can. This precisely was the concern during the first 15 years of the agreement, when several controversial decisions were taken.

Promotion and relegation debate

One such touchy issue has been promotion and relegation in the ISL.

According to the roadmap decided in consultation with the Asian Football Confederation, a proper league with promotion and relegation should have been in place this year, bringing India’s domestic structure in sync with most leagues in the world.

However, the FSDL and ISL franchises have resisted the idea of promotion to, and relegation from, the top division. The clubs argue that they have been losing approximately Rs 25 to 30 crore each year and fear that if they drop out of the ISL, the owners’ ability and patience to take more losses might be tested. That, in turn, could impact the stability of the league.

But Indian football cannot be held hostage to how a select few would react to the prospect of playing away from the spotlight. There are many smaller clubs across the country – who have brought communities together and produced players – that need an incentive beyond the haphazardly-organised I-League. Else, there’s the risk of more clubs going the way of Dempo and Shillong Lajong, and slowly fading away from the ecosystem.

Indian football’s problems are vast but these issues have contributed to the ongoing crisis.

Expectations aren’t high from India’s players and administrators but even by their low standards, the current mess is abysmal. Ten years ago, when India lost to the tiny island of Guam, it felt like the team hit the rock bottom. This time, it feels even worse; and this might not even be the lowest ebb.