Playing football in India: Risky Biz

You risk a lot to play football in India. And if you’re a woman, you risk much more than the men. Even after battling the bias, judgement and moral policing, there just isn’t enough good road to drive on. And yet these women put it all on the line for a game they love and live for.

The system isn’t geared to help you thrive. Think about how much women’s football you see on TV. How many women footballers you can name. How many times have you seen the Indian women’s national team play in a tournament at home?

Why not? Mostly because there is a total lack of faith in the sport. From administrators to fans, everyone is happy just to tick the box. The age-old sexist tropes of ‘not fast enough’, ‘not good enough’, ‘not attractive enough’ are used to justify the lack of investment.

Here’s the truth. Indian football is not sexy. It’s nowhere near good enough. And it sure as hell ain’t fast. But somehow the men seem to get their glitzy league… and the women play in the sun while remaining for all purposes, firmly in the shadows.

The women’s game has always been held back and undervalued across the world. From the larger level — lower priced rights and broadcast quality — to the smaller scale — jerseys and merchandising — it has always been deemed an afterthought. Most clubs run women's teams only because it would seem unprogressive to not do so.

But ticking boxes does not make an ecosystem thrive. If you want that to happen you have to increase the respect and value you put into the product. Less conversation, more action.

The onus falls on us fans too. Individual action cannot upend decades of negligence but mass action can.

Time to crowd the live feeds, have conversations, watch games live and ask for more. These women deserve all our support, love and attention.

Logic again. The FIFA Women's World Cup is a 32-team event. India is ranked 60th in the world. Give these women more games, better facilities, equal footing — some respect really — and they’ll climb to that 32 bracket quickly. Quicker than it’ll take the men to climb into the top 48 in the world.

This really, is the future of Indian Football.

- Vaibhav Raghunandan

Share on

Leave a comment on this post

SUBMIT