Indian Football Hits Rock Bottom, AIFF Under Fire First Sports With Rupha Ramani

Indian Football Hits Rock Bottom, AIFF Under Fire | First Sports With Rupha Ramani | N18G
Indian Football Hits Rock Bottom, AIFF Under Fire | First Sports With Rupha Ramani | N18G
Indian football is facing one of its darkest hours. Following a humiliating defeat to 153rd-ranked Hong Kong in the AFC Asian Cup qualifiers, India's hopes of qualifying for the 2027 tournament hang by a thread. The national team has won just one of its last 16 games, slipping to 127th in the FIFA rankings, and the morale in the dressing room is at an all-time low — with head coach Manolo Marquez comparing it to a funeral. But the frustration runs deeper, with fans and former players lashing out at the All-India Football Federation (AIFF) for their silence, poor governance, and lack of accountability. While international and domestic sports bodies across the world make bold decisions for the future of their game, the AIFF continues to delay meaningful action. Rupha Ramani looks at what went wrong, the fan outrage, the leadership crisis, and why Indian football urgently needs a reboot.
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