Over the years, football has grown in popularity in India. The 2017 Fifa Under -17 World Cup attracted more than 1.3 million viewers from India. This shows that there are many people who love the game. Due to the growing popularity of football, India has won the rights to host Fifa Under 17 women’s world cup that is coming up in 2020.
India as a Football Market
The Indian Super League, commonly abbreviated as ISL has more than 155 million followers. This league is considered to be among the top five when it comes to the average audiences that it brings. It compares to Serie A, Premier League, La Liga and Bundesliga which are ranked as popular leagues.
Football Craze among Indians
If you read news about football in India, you will realize that most of the people are talking about the participation of India in the World Cup. This shows how much hope they have in their country’s football team. Other than their local team, Indians also follow international football, and it is common to find many people huddled around a television screen to watch the likes of Liverpool, Machester United and Chelsea when they are playing.
Kolkota is famed as the place where most of the Indian football fanatics are. Some of the clubs that have the biggest following are East Bengan and the famous Mohun Bagan. The growth of the Indian Super League has been seen as one of the reasons why the popularity of football in India is steadily rising.
Future of Indian Football
There is a lot of hope in the growth of football in India. There are many institutions, corporations and even government bodies that have been supporting the growth of football in India. Many schools now focus on including football as one of the sports that children engage in.