Today, I will write about India.
When I think of sports in India, I think of cricket, but football will never really come to mind.
However, that perspective changed last December when I visited a good friend of mine, Sakai Daisuke, who’s playing for Kerala Blasters in the Indian Super League.
Kerala Blasters, located in Kochi, Kerela, is one of India’s most, if not the most popular, football clubs in the Indian Super League. During their home game, the stadium is always packed with Manjappada – the Yellow Army! With 7 million followers across Twitter (2 million), Instagram (3.7 million), and Facebook (1.3 million), the team leads the football vertical on social media in India.
I have been following football worldwide and am used to seeing teams with massive supporters. But when I came to this 3-time Indian Super League runner-up (since 2014), especially after having experienced the match at the stadium in person and witnessing how everyone cheered and sang for the team, I was impressed with the football passion in the city, considering the team is not a renowned international team yet. After my last visit, they have gained a new supporter in me.
Sometimes, many unknown football passions exist in different parts of the world. Kerala Blasters is undoubtedly one of them.
Kerala Blasters’ Yello Army in Qatar
Ishan Pandita (left) & Rahul K.P greeting the fans at Qatar
So, for this AFC Asian Cup in Qatar, two players from Kerala Blasters have been selected to represent India – 23-year-old Winger Rahul Kannoly Praveen and 25-year-old Striker Ishan Pandita. Both would go on to play against Uzbekistan from the second half onwards. Their presence contributed to India’s attack significantly, too.
However, the final result was not in Indian football fans’ favour—the final score was India 0, Uzbekistan 3. And the result left many Indian football fans disappointed. I still feel that India has great potential.
After all, India’s population exceeds 1.4 billion. If the Indian Super League is to improve, the India National Team will certainly achieve something which any other nation can only think of.
Once again, I look forward to the day when India will play Japan! And here, I wish Rahul and Ishan all the best! Good luck with the match against Syria!
To all Indian football supporters, I will see you soon.
