Former All India Football Federation (AIFF) general secretary Shaji Prabhakaran has called on India to convert its cyclical FIFA World Cup excitement into a sustained, 365-day commitment to football development, warning that the country's quadrennial enthusiasm masks a deeper structural neglect of the sport.

The Core Argument

Writing in a column on his blog ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2026, which kicks off on 11 June, Prabhakaran argued that India's relationship with football is fundamentally episodic. 'Football must become part of everyday life in India rather than a four-year carnival. When football is celebrated 365 days a year, it becomes part of the country's cultural bloodstream. That is the level of adoption India should seek,' he wrote.

The 54-year-old former official observed that during every World Cup cycle, television channels, newspapers, and social media overflow with football discourse — yet that same energy is conspicuously absent when the Indian national team plays competitive fixtures or when domestic clubs face survival challenges.

The Uncomfortable Truth Behind the Spectacle

Prabhakaran did not spare the casual fan. 'The same individuals who fervently question why India is not part of the World Cup often remain silent when the Indian national team plays important matches, when clubs face survival challenges, and when the sport requires consistent, grassroots support,' he noted.

He pointed to the qualification of smaller nations — Cape Verde and Curaçao among them — for the expanded 48-team FIFA World Cup 2026 as pointed evidence that football success is a product of planning and governance, not population size. 'India cannot continue using size as a comfort while ignoring the systems that transform passion into performance,' he wrote.

What India Must Prioritise

According to Prabhakaran, the pillars India needs to build include grassroots development, structured coaching pathways, stable domestic competitions, sports science integration, and transparent administrative governance. He identified consistent qualification for major youth tournaments as a measurable national objective.

'The men's and women's Under-17 national teams should be developed with the specific ambition of reaching future FIFA U-17 World Cups,' he wrote, framing youth competition as a concrete benchmark rather than an aspirational talking point.

A Call to Channel the Spark

Prabhakaran concluded his column with a pointed metaphor, urging that the World Cup be treated as ignition rather than celebration. 'The World Cup can be the spark, but sparks do not sustain themselves. They must be safeguarded, nourished, and transformed into a lasting flame. Let this tournament be more than just a celebration of other nations,' he wrote.

This comes amid India's continued absence from the FIFA World Cup, a tournament the country has never qualified for. With the 2026 edition expanding to 48 teams — raising the probability for emerging football nations — the debate over India's structural readiness has acquired fresh urgency. Whether the AIFF and stakeholders translate this renewed discourse into institutional action remains to be seen.