Indian Football and its Dismal Nosedive - A Year of Nadir for Blue Tigers, AIFF and ISL

In a year that began with cautious optimism, 2025 has etched itself as a nadir in Indian football's modern history. Once hailed as the "sleeping giant" of Asian football, India now grapples with a freefall.

The national team's humiliating results, the indefinite ISL suspension, and AIFF governance failures have created a perfect storm, leaving players unemployed and fans disillusioned. As we are set to turn the calendar year, the Indian football remains in a downward spiral, heading towards an uncertain and astonishing conclusion to the season.

A Dismal Year on the Pitch

The Blue Tigers' 2025 performances show unrelenting decline. India's FIFA ranking plummeted to 142nd by November, the lowest in nearly a decade and a 43-place drop from 99th in 2023.

A 0-1 defeat to Bangladesh

was their first in 22 years, and it was accompanied with 0-1 defeat to Hong Kong, 0-2 to Thailand. The Blue Tigers have had Zero wins in the third-round AFC Asian Cup qualifiers against weaker opponents. and thus have failed to qualify for the expanded 2027 AFC Asian Cup/

The CAFA Nations Cup third place via penalties over Oman offered a glimmer, but it masks broader failures in grassroots development and tactics.

The ISL Conundrum

The ISL 2025-26 season remains stalled indefinitely after the AIFF-FSDL deal expired on December 8, with no commercial rights bidders. Nearly 300 players are jobless, clubs lose Rs 25-30 crore annually, and market value crashed by Rs 144 crore. Training halted, I-League also bidless. Clubs like East Bengal appeal to PM Modi amid shutdown threats.

This systemic failure risks undoing market growth, starving the sport of competitive play and fan engagement. The irony is stark - while Lionel Messi's high-profile visit in December sparked fleeting excitement, the domestic scene crumbles, with clubs like East Bengal appealing directly to Prime Minister Modi for intervention.

Online discussions describe this as a "historic apocalypse," underscoring that the ISL's conundrum isn't just financial-it's existential, starving the sport of its lifeblood: competitive play and fan engagement. And as we speak, the footballing conundrum has reached Rajya Sabha as well, as the issue was raised at the highest house of Indian legislature.

No analysis of Indian football's 2025 woes is complete without scrutinizing the AIFF, whose leadership under President Kalyan Chaubey has been lambasted for incompetence and reactive decision-making. The federation's "Vision 2047" plan now appears farcical amid the league hold-up and national team's slide. Governance issues abound: prolonged legal battles, including numerous Supreme Court hearings in 2025, unresolved contractual disputes with FSDL, and a new constitution that cleared hurdles but risked mass resignations in the executive committee.

Women's Football in Rescue

Amid the dismal outing for the men's team, the Indian women's team has peaked into new heights in 2025. The senior team qualified for the AFC Asian Cup. In the continental club circuit, East Bengal women created history with their win in the AFC Champions League 2 match, followed by a magnificent stint in the SAFF Women's Club Championship. They will be up against Nepal's APF in the final of the competition on Saturday.

As 2025 ends, Indian football stands at a crossroads. Messi's frenzy was a band-aid; without government mediation, leadership overhaul, and youth focus, decline could be irreversible. Stakeholders must restart leagues, rebuild trust, and harness talent. The "Brazil of Asia" dream demands action now.