FIFA U17 World Cup: The game-changer India's football culture needs

Last week the announcement broke across Twitter accounts right around the world that the host country for the U17 edition of the World Cup in 2017 was to be none other than India, and while the reaction was mainly a positive and excited one, there are sure to be quite a number of sceptical minds out there, disputing just how beneficial the show-piece event will be.

There’s no question about it – their concerns are entirely justified.

India is not a football-obsessed country, and it seldom has been. It’s common knowledge that cricket permeates the sports fan’s psyche throughout the land and it dwarfs every other sport by quite some distance. When celebrated cricketer Sachin Tendulkar retired recently, you couldn’t move for the nostalgic coverage the Indian media sprouted, and rightly so. But it was incredibly revealing all the same to see one sport tower so dominantly over all the rest.

Of course, football is watched in India, but it’s mainly teams from outside its borders that dominate the discussions there, with the English Premier League and the Spanish La Liga garnering most of the attention.

Thankfully, some attempts have been made to refurbish the popular view of football.

The main domestic division known as the I-League was developed back in 2007 as a revamped version of the old National Football League in an effort to whip up more support for the beautiful game, but it hasn’t quite captured the imagination. With a very minute influx of foreign players, it’s not easy for the league to develop – often stagnating without the excitement of high-profile transfers. Unfortunately, a genuine lack of investment in the sport at ground level also means that although some progress can be made by improving training regimes and focusing hard on getting tactics right for international fixtures etc., no substantial change will ever be evinced without channelling some much-needed funds into the sport.

Another factor that really hinders any visible growth and makes it difficult to bring about a marked improvement is the unfavourable AFC qualification procedure that’s in place for the World Cup. With knock-out rounds coming early, many less powerful nations such as India often fail to safely steer their way to the group stages as they get weeded out prematurely, and as a result they seldom reap the rewards of playing those few extra games against better opposition.

So, while some of the problems faced by football in India are of their own making, others are foisted unfairly upon them.

However, now is a time to focus on the positives of possibility. By fending off the advances made by would-be host countries such as the Republic of Ireland, Uzbekistan as well as South Africa, who hosted the world’s most popular football tournament back in 2010, it could well be that FIFA are ready to invest time, effort and money into developing India as a football-focused country.

There’s no doubt that this is a huge opportunity for the country. With plenty of time to plan and prepare, there’s no reason why this couldn’t become a pivotal turning point for all concerned.

As reported by IBNLive back in 2012, Jerome Valcke went on record to say: “We will work with AIFF to make sure you have the structure to become a player at the highest level.”

So clearly, the desire is there on all sides to make this tournament a veritable game-changer for Indian football.

If one thing is definite amidst all the hubbub and the uncertainty, however, it’s that India’s preparations in time for the competition promise to be a character-building exercise in trying to nourish the reputation of a lesser-loved sport as well as attempting to prove that their federation have what it takes to get all the finer details right.

And although the U17 edition has rarely been a prelude to hosting the main event (only one of the previous hosts have, as of yet, gone on to bring the main show home), it does allow for a sliver of hope for a country to eventually be crowned hosts. Japan brought the U17 competition to its shores in 1993 before co-hosting the big event in 2002 with Korea. Also, Egypt welcomed the best of talent under the age of 17 in 1997 before going on to host the U20 variant in 2009.

Inevitably, the road is sure to be long and arduous in order to make the tournament a successful one, and it’s sure to be even more testing and taxing to continue to improve upon the neglected footballing spirit that exists right now. But perhaps with a helping hand from FIFA over the next few years, the foundations for a bright future will be laid and steps will continue to be made in the right direction.

Many of those passionate about the sport in India are hoping that all will be ready, facility-wise, in time for the U17 competition, with Zee News reporting that there remains much work to do in relation to pitch surfaces in particular. There’s also the potentially naive mindset that with a little bit of luck and some extra friendlies over the course of the next four years, the Indian youngsters will be capable of holding their own at home – that remains to be seen.

Perhaps they will be, perhaps they won’t. Either way, this is sure to act as a wake-up call to all those involved that India needs to improve upon the standard of football they’re currently producing. Investment in grass-roots should become a top priority, fuelling the future generation of India’s up-and-coming young footballers needs to be focused upon and as much support and publicity as possible should be drummed up about football in the build-up to the U17 World Cup.

By welcoming the future stars of tomorrow to the stadia and opening the doors to fans of good football, excitement is set to flourish as a result. And where there is excitement, intrigue and interest will surely follow suit.

Glancing back at some of the previous stars of tournaments gone by throws up some very familiar names. Cesc Fabregas, Toni Kroos, Anderson and Iker Muniain are just some of the stand-out performers that have wowed crowds in the past at the U17 World Cup, so it’s fair to suggest that the enticement of seeing some of the best players of the future should be attraction enough to draw the crowds in.

Whether or not the powers-that-be can use the short-term popularity of football that’s set to sweep through the country in 2017 as a building block for something more palpable and real depends on how well the competition is advertised and marketed. It will also depend on how capably they can assure people that the U17 World Cup is where budding professionals make their name and that it is a breeding ground for raw skill and talent that retains the untamed, untarnished feel of free-flowing, vibrant football.

In short, the U17 World Cup is where some of the best young players will show off their value and start to sow the seeds for their promising futures by putting themselves on the world stage for the first time; it would be foolish for Indian football to not follow suit.