WATCH: Can the India national team play at the next FIFA World Cup?
India is one of the most densely populated countries in the world, but have never qualified for a World Cup.
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00:00 They're one of the planet's biggest countries, but despite a population of 1.4 billion, India have never qualified for a FIFA World Cup.
00:08 However, interest in the sport has never been higher. So when could we see the Blue Tigers on football's biggest stage?
00:15 Hello there and welcome to Football Now from Doha, the home of the 2023 AFC Asian Cup.
00:27 One team that has caught the eye of everybody here in Qatar for their fantastic support has been India.
00:33 Optimism remains that this generation of players could be the ones to do something no Indian national team has ever done before, play at a FIFA World Cup.
00:42 It's a surprising fact given the country's massive population, so just why has success on the pitch been so hard to come by?
00:52 We have been runners-up in Asian Cup once and we have been champions in Asian Games twice.
00:57 And we also reached the semifinals of the 1956 Olympics. So there is a history.
01:03 But when the world football made huge progress, India lagged behind due to various reasons, basically economic reasons.
01:12 Because in a country which had a lot of other problems, football alone cannot be developed.
01:17 So that's the main problem and meanwhile India won the cricket World Cup in the 83 and cricket became a huge hit.
01:25 But luckily for football, now the game is catching up. We are becoming professional slowly.
01:32 The ISL is making some impact, but it will take some more time.
01:38 What I feel is basically we need to develop more infrastructure at the grassroots level.
01:45 We need more grass turf and such facilities for young footballers to practice and train.
01:53 Well, the good news for India fans is that from 2026 the World Cup will be expanding from 32 to 48 teams, making that dream seem as feasible as ever.
02:03 I caught up with Blue Tigers captain and legendary striker Sunil Chhetri, who explained exactly what has to happen for that to become a possibility.
02:12 I think the way I look at it is to keep qualifying for the Asia Cup, be in the first ten in Asia and keep competing.
02:18 The day you're going to see us play Australia three times in a year, Japan three times in a year, South Korea, UAE, Iran, then the answer will be self-evident for everyone to see.
02:28 So the first dream is to, a realistic dream is to come in the first ten in Asia and stay there.
02:33 We all know what's going to happen in the next World Cup. They're going to be 7th, 8th from Asia. That gives more chances.
02:38 So we come in the first ten, stay there and then the dream is more reachable and that's the way we want to look at it.
02:44 Well, they may have billions of fans cheering them on, but it's the players on the pitch who are the ones tasked with delivering the hopes of a nation.
02:51 According to Chhetri, who is likely playing at his last major international tournament for India, the next generation of talent looks promising and the future is in good hands.
03:00 I am a bigger pull to choose from. A lot of talent from different places, which is very important. And I just hope.
03:06 I think the whole dream is to tap every talent, identify them at the right age, give them whatever they need, he or she.
03:12 And then whatever we achieve, we'll keep our hands up and say, you know, this is our best.
03:16 That's something that we haven't achieved in football, not only in football, but in all sports in our country. The day we do it, we'll be a sporting nation.
03:22 Well, this month we've seen that the support for the team is as passionate as ever, both here in Qatar and at home in India.
03:29 We spoke to some of their most dedicated fans along their Asian Cup journey to find out just what it would mean to see their nation represented on football's biggest stage.
03:39 It is significantly grown to a level where you will find people playing football every weekend quarter of India, especially on the southern part.
03:56 It has been grown a lot of the cricket. It is a football what we are looking forward for. And we are doing good.
04:02 Sunil Chhetri is doing good.
04:03 FIFA is conducting more tournaments and grassroot level developments in India.
04:19 You can see the crowd. We are hoping that we more encourage people to see and to watch it and play.
04:26 The passion for football in India is growing every day. So a lot of changes are happening in Indian football.
04:32 There's a new football league in India called the Super League where many states are participating in. Many foreign players are coming in to play over there.
04:41 I believe that they are getting more polished. They are getting more stronger day by day. So we are hoping to see ourselves one day in the World Cup.
04:47 Definitely in 2026 we would like to see India part of FIFA World Cup and that will be starting from now.
04:56 Hopefully one day we will be able to see ourselves in the World Cup.
04:59 Definitely in 2026 we would like to see India part of FIFA World Cup and that will be starting from now.
05:09 Hopefully one day we will definitely achieve that dream.
05:12 East or West, India is the best.
05:24 India is the best.
05:30 Thank you.
05:31 It's certainly an exciting time to be following football in India then as they try to achieve that historic feat of reaching a FIFA World Cup.
05:45 That is all we have time for this week. Do let us know your thoughts using the hashtag #FootballNowIndia and we'll see you next time. Bye for now.
05:53 [END]