Zero.
Man has found kicking a ball interesting for some thousand years.
In various parts of the world, among the Chinese, Native Americans, Native Oceanians and of course, Europeans, this game was played in varied forms. All of it involved kicking the ball.
In the 19th century, the British standardized the game. They spread this sport in their colonies, and India happened to be one of them.
When you are ruled by a trading company, there is little that is done not to exploit you and the resources of your country. Football, which the British proudly claimed their own, became a medium to express resistance for the Indians.
In 1911, Mohun Bagan Athletic Club* defeated a British football club, Yorkshire Regiment in the final of IFA Shield, becoming the first all-Indian club to win the prestigious trophy. ( *called Mohun Bagan Super Giant as of 4th May, 2024.)
This was a major milestone in India's struggle for freedom, and this day is celebrated as Mohun Bagan Day every year on 29th June.
After Independence in 1947, India become a footballing mammoth, dubbed the "Brasil of Asian Football."
And you know the state in which football in India is now. Or not, and they both clarify my point :
It is in shambles.
So come one, let us take a deeper dive as to how things came to happen as they did.
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YOU ARE READING
Guide to Indian Football.
Non-Fiction"India's Football Awakens as 'Sleeping Giant' . O traveler, let us together delve into the past, present, and future of Indian football. Success seems a far-fetched goal, and yet it is one worth striving for.
