2018 was the year in which the Indian football fan was pushed to the brink

In Indian football, much of what transpired in 2017 can be boxed into the ‘going sideways’ category. As 2018 comes to an end, the game’s future in the country is still largely unclear.

The two football leagues, the I-League and the Indian Super League, continue to function separately, four years after a merger plan had been originally drafted.

From questions and videos over Asian club quotas to spats over broadcasting, fans have been in the dark over the future of the leagues. The Asian Football Confederation and Fifa sent in their recommendations but they remain just that, recommendations. It is up to the All India Football Federation to resolve this quandary, but it might be easier said than done.

If 2017 converted fence-sitters to optimists, 2018 proved why Indian football always has a tendency to prove the naysayers right. The 2017 Under-17 World Cup was held amidst much fanfare, but one year later, it is difficult to gauge its true impact on the Indian football ecosystem.

The U-17 World Cup cannot claim to have brought in a massive increase in popularity of the sport in India, for 2018 was a year in which Sunil Chhetri had to make a video pleading with fans to turn up for his 100th game in national colours.

Attendances in general dropped throughout the two leagues, only propped up due to massive community movements such as Neroca FC and Gokulam Kerala. Coming to the technical side of play, all the ‘improvements’ in Indian football are somewhat humorously put down to the World Cup, but youth results should always be taken with a pinch in a country in which age fraud is rampant.

If the Under-16 men’s team made it to the AFC U16 quarter-finals, they scored no goals from open play and one from a penalty. The ‘youthful’ Indian team was defeated in final of the SAFF Cup, possibly the weakest collection of nations to play an international tournament.

The Under-18 Women’s SAFF tournament also saw India manage third place, but their U-15 counterparts won their tournament. The senior women’s team also made it to the second round of the Olympic qualifiers, but it has to be mentioned that the format of the qualifiers has changed for the 2020 cycle.

Twin 2-1 losses to Jordan and Kyrgyz Republic flattered the senior men’s team on the pitch, as did the 0-0 scoreline to China. A 0-0 draw with Oman was earned, but it remains to be seen whether Stephen Constantine’s men can turgidly draw their way through the group stages, or even nick the odd goal against Thailand, Bahrain or hosts UAE, at the 2019 Asian Cup.

Coming to the I-League, a Minerva Punjab triumph put paid to the Kolkata giants’ hope for the second consecutive year. Uncertainty rules the I-League’s future, with the AIFF desperately hoping that one of the Kolkata giants nick the league in order to make the transition to a one-league structure easier.

Chennai City have started strongly, but such is the tight nature of the league at the halfway mark that any of Neroca, East Bengal, Mohun Bagan, Minerva, Churchill Brothers or even debutants Real Kashmir could still win the title.

On the ISL side, debutants Bengaluru FC romped to the finals of the 2017-’18 season, only to be beaten by Chennaiyin in the final. Bengaluru would also get knocked out of the 2018 AFC Cup by Altyn Asyr of Turkmenistan, but won the inaugural Super Cup before that.

The fans, however, took centre-stage come the end of the year, with boycotts at the Kerala Blasters games and the outrage against rigid security. The I-League’s future, up in the air, saw some oxygen injected by social media protests against the AIFF, broadcasters Star Sports and marketers Football Sports Development Limited.

But the one thing that fans, as the ultimate consumers of the game, were not given is clarity – a plan on the direction in which Indian football and, especially, league football is headed. Fans were treated to even more misleading statements by AIFF president Praful Patel on qualification for the 2026 World Cup, after previously having predicted progression to the 2018 and 2022 tournaments.

National team director Abhishek Yadav also targeted the “top 8 in Asia” by 2026 but that is easier said than done given India has struggled to make it consistently to the previously 16, now 24-team Asian Cup. This will only be India’s fourth appearance overall.

Stephen Constantine, on the subject of missing strikers, spoke about long-term planning being involved in making world-class players. Indian football’s 2018 season displayed tendencies to do the exact opposite, with its handling of the leagues, attendances, fan culture, weeding out of problems such as age fraud or skill development. With respect to age fraud, the less said about the Gaurav Mukhi case, the better.

Indeed, short-termism has pushed fans to the brink and, as deserved cynicism sets in, spectators are picking up rapidly on the thin veneer of progress being doled out. It will be a straightforward choice to the authorities in 2019 – continue with the facade, or take steps to undo years of indifference.