New Delhi: Sandesh Jhingan, captain of the Indian men’s football team, said on Wednesday that the country’s football ecosystem is in jeopardy. He noted that Indian football is currently going through one of its most challenging phases.
Without naming Lionel Messi, whose three-day tour triggered massive public frenzy in Kolkata, Hyderabad, Mumbai, and Delhi, Jhingan remarked that there is little willingness to invest in football within India, even as crores of rupees were spent on the tour.
In a lengthy Instagram post, he said: “Now that the euphoria of the past few days of the entire country suddenly embracing football has settled somewhat, I felt compelled to share my thoughts. First and foremost, it genuinely made me happy to see that our country does love football, that it can fill stadiums to full capacity, and that people are willing to spend lakhs to witness the sport.”
In the same post, he added: “What troubles me, however, and leaves me deeply reflective, is that at a time when our own football ecosystem is in jeopardy, arguably facing one of its most difficult phases, we stand on the brink of having no active domestic football ahead of us. It feels as though we are close to shutting everything down because there is no willingness to invest in football within India, yet crores were spent on this tour.”
Jhingan’s post further said: “I am aware of the criticism that comes our way, and I accept responsibility for performances. But football does not exist in isolation. Anyone who truly understands the game knows how profoundly structure, stability, and belief influence what ultimately happens on the pitch.”
