Cricket and the Death of Indian Football

The Indian subcontinent has been ravaged by a new kind of epidemic, one that forces people to stop all work and sit in front of the television by 7 o'clock every evening. Fierce rivalries have been formed and the country has been divided by the game of cricket.

With the launch of the Indian Premier League with all the pomp and glitz, the death knell of Indian Football has been sounded. With names like Shah Rukh Khan and Mukesh Ambani (the Indian Johnny Depp and the fifth richest man on the planet, respectively) purchasing franchises shelling out some serious cash, Indian Football has never looked so bleak.

When in 2007 India won the less fancied Nehru Cup, there was an atmosphere of optimism. It looked like Indian football was finally on the rise. However, that has proved to be a false dawn. The interest of people in the game of football has fallen to an all-time low. It doesn't seem likely that this condition will improve. The fact is that Cricket has outgrown all other sports in the sub continent.

The rise of cricket in India has been so meteoric and effective that even India's national sport, Field Hockey, is in the dumps. Indians were once the undisputed kings of field hockey; today they are struggling to stay in the top 10. Clearly, cricket is growing to be unhealthily popular for other sports.

The coverage of the sport is such in the country that people refuse to watch sport if it is not cricket. And the IPL is just adding more fuel to the fire. It won't be long before all other sports in the country die out.

Football is a popular sport in the country. Often played in the monsoon or the rains, the game is followed by millions and also played by many more, but it lacks professional participation. The money associated with football is peanuts compared to the money associated with cricket.

What a professional footballer earns in one year in India is what a professional cricketer earns in one match. This is keeping the endorsements part of earning separate. The other reason for football lagging behind is the Indian FA itself, the AIFF.

The AIFF does nothing to encourage more participation, the stadiums are dilapidated, the coaches are paid meagre salaries, the players are treated like garbage and there is no publicity. Most matches played by the national side are not even telecasted by TV channels, citing poor ratings. By contrast, there are multiple channels covering cricket matches around the clock.

With the introduction of the new 20-20 format in cricket, it seems that Indian football is dying a sad and silent death. The popularity of cricket has claimed another sport. And now, with the new IPL with all its glitz and glamour, the sport of football will soon be a part of ancient Indian history.

God save Indian football.