Indian football, once called the ‘Sleeping Giant of Asia’, now cherishes in his reflected glory.
A FIFA ranks outside the Top 120, not competitive victories in almost two years, and a swamp in the Domestic Setup – India spreads in one of the darkest chapters of his football history.
But is there a way out of the dungeon?
There are two ways to tackle it from here – Use foreign import of Indian descent for fast success, or to strengthen the basis to create an assembly line for a better future.
While the first partly outside the All India Football Federations (AIFF) PURVIEW remains – it would require a change in control by the central government – the latter has seen that Asian countries such as Uzbekistan and Japan reach the highlight of international football, the FIFA world cup, through development of the base.
«Academies are not only intended to build players; they are long -term assets for the country,» says Subrata Paul, the director of the national team, says Sports star. «They are the heart and soul of the football future of a country.»
So, why hasn’t it been successful in transforming India?
A late start
The Long -Term Athlete Development (LTAD) plan, developed by sports scientist Dr. Istvan Balyi, is one of the most globally accepted models for the development of young people, in football and different.
Phase 1: Active start (0-6 years old)
Phase 2: Fundamentally (6-9)
Phase 3: Learn to train (9-12)
Phase 4: Train to train (12-16)
Phase 5: Train to compete (16-19)
Phase 6: Train to Win (19+)
Phase 7: Active for life (every age)
Accordingly, most academies give recruits from phase 2 in leading football countries – after they have scouted best from phase 1 – usually at the age of six. An example: La Masia (Barcelona), Ajax Amsterdam and Bayern Munich. Spain and Barcelona Sensation Lamine Yamal joined La Masia when he was seven.
In India, the starting time for football academies is usually 12 – double the worldwide standard – missing a whole phase of cognitive and physical development.
«I believe that India has always invested a lot in education. But football is not like any other job. Unfortunately it starts at a very young age. You can’t start playing football at the age of 15. You have to start after 5-6 years because you have to find your feet,» had said former Arsenal manager Arsene Wener during his visit to India two years ago.
«When we started, we kept the minimum age at eight. But there are no competitions. I can’t keep training them all day without testing them,» Rues Ranjit Bajaj, the founder of Minerva Academy, one of the few to keep teams in every age group tournament in India.
«It’s hardly productive. So we eventually moved to 12.»
Although the country now has a competition for children between 6-12 years old, called the Golden Baby Leagues (GBL), the competitions are anything but competitive and are quite low in number. An I -League of Indian Super League (ISL) team is, for example, the assignment to play 21 games in GBL to secure its license. In La Masia the number of matches varies from 40 to 55 and based on the power of the players, they are promoted.
Foundation Football: The Golden Baby Leagues is a long-term initiative for player development designed to cherish a new generation of football players and girls by introducing them to the game in the youngest possible age. | Photocredit: Aiff Media
Foundation Football: The Golden Baby Leagues is a long-term initiative for player development designed to cherish a new generation of football players and girls by introducing them to the game in the youngest possible age. | Photocredit: Aiff Media
«I spoke with a keeper from Tajikistan during our last trip there,» says Priyansh Dubey, the goalkeeper of the U-23 side of India.
«He told me he started playing when he was six or seven. That is what makes them better. When I started playing (at the age of 12), they had already trained for four to five years.»
The Coronavirus -Pandemie only made things worse.
In the past 10 years, the U-17, U-15 (started in 2015) and U-13 (started in 2017) competitions until 2019, when COVID-19 stopped them temporarily.
The last two returned four years later, while the U-17 tournament resumed a year earlier. In a country that starts developing players six years late, that has lost a decade of football development.
Subroto Cup, the oldest school football tournament in India, also suffered. Madhyamgram High School, the record sevenfold winner of the U-17 tournament, has not been reached since 1996. As soon as the launch platform for future India stars such as Shyam Thapa, Bhaichung Bhutia and Bruno Coutinho, it is a shadow of the past recovery in controversies, with five teams that diskerge last year for the field of indoor players.
The scouts of ISL clubs nowadays prefer AIFF Junior (U-17) and Sub-Junior (U-15) tournaments above the Subroto Cup.
Inconsistent presence of academies
The presence of academies in all age groups has also been inconsistent. According to the AIFF there are 94 accredited academies.
But those who have consistently participated in all four age groups-u-13, U-15, U-18 and U-9-de in the past 10 years and at national level are only 10, only 10.6 percent.
Clubs with consistent participation in all four age groups (2015-2025)
Reliance Foundation Young Champs (RFYC)
Minerva Academy
Sudeva Delhi FC
Bhaichung Bhutia Football Schools (BBFS)
Tata Football Academy (TFA, now called Jameshedpur FC Academy)
Madras FC (formerly FC Madras)
Bengaluru FC Academy
Kerala Blasters FC Academy
FC Goa Academy
Open FC Academy.
There are two important reasons here. Firstly, the planning of age group tournaments and the criteria has not remained uniform-an updated set of rules has been released for each season in the past decade.
Secondly, many old Academies-DSK Shivajians, JCT Mills, Mahindra Fa and the own Academy side of the Aiff, the Indian arrows, were absorbed, while several Nieuwe-Punjab FC (since 2020), Mumbai City FC (since 2022), and the Aiff-Fifa have arrived.
JCT Mills had once tightened India’s record goal scorer Sunil Chhetri, while Lallianzuala Chhange, one of the best wing players in India, is currently a product of Shivajians.
«If they had continued, they could have helped to produce many more players. To have an academy, it is not easy to support one,» complains Renedy Singh, former India captain and a graduate of the second party of the TFA in 1996.
«At the time, TFA was the only major academy. Every year we had foreign exposure trips, the best training, and there were a few coaches who used to come from abroad. TFA gave us the lifeline; all thanks to Ranjan, Sir, (Mohammed Habib) Habib Sir and PK Banerjejee, who was the director.»
«There was a time when 10 out of 11 players were in the U-19 team of India from TFA, including me. We played against Japan, Qatar, China and Bangladesh,» Renedy adds.
From 1992 to 2022, 273 cadets graduated from TFA – 147 of them played for India, with 24 leading the Blue Tigers. However, the number of national team players at the Academy fell drastically – from 17 in the first batch to only four in 2022.
The Academies of ISL clubs, on the other hand, are not the primary feeder for the senior team. In the past 12 months, 43 players have been called up for the National Camp. Only 13 of them came through the academies of ISL Clubs.
Lallianzuala Change, one of the best writers of India at the moment, is a product of the nowed DSK Shivajians FC. | Photocredit: Aiff Media
Lallianzuala Change, one of the best writers of India at the moment, is a product of the nowed DSK Shivajians FC. | Photocredit: Aiff Media
Exposure travel have also played an important role. Minerva won the U-13 Gothia Cup in Sweden two years ago, while RFYC made Reizen to Malaysia and Japan.
«I think the best example is when we went to the Supermokh Cup in Malaysia. In 2022 we lost 0-8 and 0-7 in the U-14 category. Two years later we won two of the best academies in Malaysia in the same section,» says Robert Roelofsen, RFYC’s head of youth development.
«Playing abroad makes it easier to play in India instead of keeping playing here. I left some soft goals in Japan last year (Sanix Cup 2024). That gave me an idea about what I was doing wrong,» Priyansh recalls.
«I worked on them, and when I returned to India, I played with confidence more than 35 games for Mohun Bagan.» Priyansh won the Golden Glove in the U-9 tournament this season.
Priyansh Dubey is a product of the Reliance Foundation Young Champs. | Photocredit: Aiff Media
Priyansh Dubey is a product of the Reliance Foundation Young Champs. | Photocredit: Aiff Media
A silver lining
India, however, slowly learns to sew its wounds – starting with the sculptors: the coaches.
Since 2022, the number of licensed coaches in India has increased by 86 percent, with 500 of those currently under the technical training to perform.
The AIFF-FIFA Academy now has a U-15 team that has reached the semi-final of the AIFF U-17 Youth League this season.
«Evaluation of those playing today, we have to ask: have we had a structured youth development system 10 years ago? If not, we must ensure that today’s young people do not experience the same gap,» says Kalyan Chaubey, the president of Aiff.
India’s tragedy is not in the fact that it cannot produce world class footballers. It lies in the obsession with quick results-the love for instant noodles about their own, self-skirted products made with hard work. That must change.
It must accept the mess in which it is located, judgmental aim and patience to grow the beautiful game.
