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Why has India, a country of 1.4 billion people, never qualified for the World Cup?

2026-06-18 17:49:47Sport SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX

Why has India, a country of 1.4 billion people, never qualified for the World

India, the world's most populous country with around 1.4 billion people, continues to be left out of the world's biggest football stage. While the World Cup is taking place with the participation of countries from all continents, Indian fans are once again forced to watch the tournament only as spectators.

The Indian national football team has never qualified for the World Cup finals, consistently being eliminated in the preliminary rounds of Asian qualifiers.

Paradoxically, football enjoys immense popularity in some parts of India, particularly West Bengal, Kerala and Goa, where the atmosphere during the World Cup is often compared to that of the participating countries. However, the passion of the fans has not been matched by success at the national level.

Former India captain Baichung Bhutia believes that World Cup qualification is possible, but it will take a lot of hard work and dedication. According to him, the problem is not a lack of talent, but a lack of a proper development system. He says India lacks a serious grassroots football development programme for children and youth, which is hampering the creation of future generations of players.

Former Indian striker Shyam Thapa, one of the most prominent figures in Indian football, shares a similar view. He says that more and more Indian families are turning their children towards cricket, the country's most popular sport, due to the huge profits offered by the professional league IPL. According to him, football has been left on the back burner and is not attracting the necessary number of young talents.

Why has India, a country of 1.4 billion people, never qualified for the World

The challenge becomes even clearer when India is compared to the Asian teams that have secured their place in the World Cup. Australia, Japan, South Korea, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Jordan, Uzbekistan and Iraq have all managed to secure their places in the tournament. Jordan and Uzbekistan are participating for the first time, but both are ranked much higher than India in the FIFA world rankings. Uzbekistan is ranked 52nd, Jordan is 63rd, while India has slipped to 136th.

In 2022, the president of the Indian Football Federation, Kalyan Chaubey, unveiled an ambitious “Vision 2047” project, which aimed to involve 35 million children in football and raise the level of the sport in the country. However, many critics believe that concrete results have been lacking and that the Federation has failed to deliver on its promises.

Another problem is the instability of the professional Indian Super League (ISL). The league, launched with much fanfare in 2014, attracted big investors and big names from around the world of football. But in recent years, it has faced financial and organizational difficulties, creating uncertainty for clubs and players.

For now, the most realistic target for India remains regular qualification for the Asian Cup, the continent's premier tournament. Former captain Sunil Chhetri has said the country should first focus on breaking into the top 15 or 20 Asian teams. Only after reaching that level can India seriously consider a historic World Cup qualification.

The federation is also trying to change the rules to allow citizens of Indian origin living abroad to play for the national team without giving up their current citizenship. If this policy is approved, India could benefit from a number of talented footballers currently representing other countries.

However, until a strong football development system is built, serious investment is made in academies and competition at the domestic level is increased, India's participation in the World Cup remains a distant goal. While much smaller countries have managed to achieve the global dream, Indian fans continue to ask the same question: if small nations can do it, why not India? / Taken with abbreviations from the BBC


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