“Not only did it show that there is passion for the game in India but it showed corporations and potential sponsors that there is money to be made from football and not just cricket.”įollowing hard on that competition’s heels, the start of the 2017-18 India Super League (ISL) season on November 18 provided another example of the country’s growing love for the beautiful game. “That tournament was a big deal,” says India’s national team coach, Englishman Stephen Constantine. In just two days, more than 60,000 tickets were sold for the hastily re-arranged fixture. The high point for the hosts came at the quarter-final stage, when a game between England and Brazil was moved from the north-eastern city of Guwahati to Kolkata due to a waterlogged pitch. October’s 2017 Under-17 World Cup, the first global tournament to be held in the country, was a roaring success that broke attendance records, with a total 1,347,000 attending. The year when it became possible to write about India’s relationship with football without mentioning the ‘c word’ – that’s how 2017 might end up being remembered by those involved. Cricket may still be a clear number one in terms of popularity on the subcontinent but events of the past few months have been hugely encouraging for football-lovers.

Brave frontier tier list january 2016