AFC Asian Cup 2023: Will India, the ‘sleeping giant’ of football, wake up?
Al Jazeera
As India plays its second consecutive Asian Cup, expectations remain low for the team that hasn’t won major titles.
Mumbai, India – For decades, India has lived with the label of being the “sleeping giant” of football.
With a population of 1.4 billion, highest in the world, there is a prevailing sentiment that India is underrepresented in international football.
Compared to its dominance in cricket, the country lags far behind in football and is yet to qualify for a FIFA World Cup.
While former FIFA president Sepp Blatter optimistically declared in 2012 that the “sleeping giant is starting to wake up,” the reality in 2024 paints a different picture.
Currently placed 102nd in the FIFA rankings and not even among the top 10 sides in Asia, India is still in the midst of its football awakening and struggling to emerge from its slumber, experts argue.
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