Goan and Indian football fans have been anxiously waiting for the moment when India qualifies for the FIFA World Cup. Practically speaking, the goal is a distance dream that will take many years of preparations to qualify for the mega tournament. Yet it is very common to see fans ask the same question repeatedly, “When will India qualify for the World Cup?”
Indian football has been a subject of mockery for the media and rivals of the sport. And rarely there has been any appreciation for Indian football’s achievements despite its barriers like poor infrastructure, lack of youth development programmes and corruption.
Amidst all the problems, it is interesting to note that India once qualified for the World Cup in 1950. The period from 1950 to 1964 is considered as the Golden era for Indian football as the national team won laurels at international level like the Olympics and Asian Cup during that period.
India’s qualification for the 1950 World Cup was more of a fortune. At that time, the Indian team was considered as a football powerhouse in Asia. Four teams – Burma, Indonesia, Philippines and India – were invited to participate in the FIFA World Cup qualifiers. All the teams, except India, withdrew from the competition. So India were automatically placed in the world cup which was held in Brazil. India were pitted against Sweden, Italy and Paraguay in Group 3.
Sadly, India also withdrew from the mega event at the eleventh hour. There is not one concrete reason to why India withdrew. However the story, that FIFA sent back the Indian team because they had no shoes, is a myth and a way of mocking Indian football. In fact sources reveal that FIFA had no objection if Indian footballers played barefoot. The choice was left to the players and the All India Football Federation (AIFF)
Then why did India back out from the tournament? The most possible reasons for India’s withdrawal are state below :-
- India never understood the value of participating in a FIFA World Cup. The Olympics was everything for them at that time. So they did not attend the biggest sporting event of the world. The then national team captain late Sailen Manna said, “We had no idea about the World Cup then. Had we been better informed, we would have taken the initiative ourselves. For us, the Olympics was everything. There was nothing bigger.” The legendary Indian footballer was found quoted on a website.
- Another known reason was that there were issues in the team selection. There also seemed insufficient time to practice for such a huge competition. This was the official reason stated by the All India Football Federation.
- India could not bear the cost for travelling from India to Brazil. India had got independence just three years prior to that World Cup and hence their economy was not stable yet. It certainly took time for India to become a stable economy and generate revenue. According to some sources, FIFA agreed to bare most of the travel cost yet the team failed to participate.
- There are high possibilities that the Indian players were reluctant to embark on a long sea voyage as during those days most of the people commuted from country to country by sea. A common Indian man, somehow, felt very hesitant to travel such a long journey that too by sea.
Many Indians as well as non-Indians are still under the impression that India did not play the WC because they were not allowed to play barefoot. This trend will continue to remain the same until sufficient efforts are made to rectify this misconception.
It is surprising that the Indian media never made any attempts to rectify the world’s stereotypical thinking about Indian football. Had the media played its role with loyalty, football could have been a legacy for Indians today and not a subject of mockery.
