Why Is India, With a Population of 1.4 Billion, Still Absent from the 2026 FIFA World Cup?

Will India ever qualify for the FIFA World Cup? As the “world’s biggest sporting event” kicked off last week, Indian football fans are once again confronted with this disappointing question. For followers of the Indian football team, known as the ‘Blue Tigers,’ this has been a recurring concern for years, as India has never progressed beyond the initial stages of the Asian qualification tournaments. Still, football enthusiasts from Indian states such as West Bengal, Kerala, and Goa remain particularly passionate about the World Cup. Despite India having no direct stake in the competition, the number of journalists traveling to the event to provide on-ground reporting continues to rise.

“We are often asked in the press box, ‘Does India even play football?’ Most people associate us with cricket,” said a senior Indian football writer who has covered four World Cups. It’s not just India; China, the world’s second most populous country, also failed to qualify for the World Cup for the second time. FIFA understands the significance of these vast markets; that’s why it deployed a powerful media rights team in India at the last moment to ensure live broadcasts of the matches.

Former national team captain and India’s most celebrated footballer Bhaichung Bhutia believes participation in the World Cup isn’t impossible, though he sees no shortcuts to achieving it. “Yes, India can definitely compete in the World Cup because nothing is impossible. Out of 48 teams, the eight slots allocated for Asian teams are attainable, but it requires tremendous hard work,” Bhutia said. He added, “India is a large country and does not lack talented players. However, we don’t have a strong grassroots program with long-term planning.”

Ultimately, the All India Football Federation was compelled to organize a scaled-down version of the competition without any commercial partners. Against this backdrop, ‘Vision 2047,’ an ambitious plan aimed at attracting nearly 35 million children to football, seems increasingly forgotten, resembling an unfulfilled manifesto. What was the goal? After winning an invitational tournament and the South Asian Football Championship in 2023, the men’s team briefly entered the top 100 of the FIFA rankings. However, since then, these achievements have steadily declined.