FOOTBALL. Eye on 2026 World Cup: Mizo govt, Tata Trusts groom young players

In a country that worships cricket, the hope of football rising in popularity is slim. A sport confined largely to certain pockets, football is rarely seen as the top choice for an aspiring sportsperson.

However, the growing fan base of European clubs has over the years increased Indian viewership of major tournaments.

Even with more youngsters keen to take up football, the situation on the ground remains grim. Lack of infrastructure, money and facilities has only ensured that Indian football lags its Asian peers.

India is set to host the Under-17 World Cup later this year, thus making a statement that the country is finally serious about improving the standards at the grassroots level. Yet, the question remains — is India ready to compete at the highest level?

Late last year, the Mizoram government signed an MoU with Tata Trusts to set up a centre of excellence (CoE) to provide world-class training to children. Tata Trusts had joined forces with U Dream Football.

Under this initiative, the CoE sent 35 boys, all aged below 16, to Germany last month for a period of six years, for training and academics. The initiative covers a tie-up with Bundesliga club TSG 1899 Hoffenheim.

Speaking to BusinessLine , Biswanath Sinha, Associate Director at Tata Trusts, said the Trust works in the north-eastern regions in the areas of agriculture, livestock, etc. “While working with the locals, we saw the huge popularity of football. We started in Mizoram last year, where we set up a grassroots development centre with 60 students, whom we trained after school hours. We now look to bring in foreign coaches too, to improve the standard of training,” he said.

Sinha added, “Our aim is to ensure quality education as well as football training to the children. Hopefully, by the time they turn 21 or 22, they’ll be world-class and India could field a team at par with the stronger nations. The long-term objective is to see India feature in the World Cup in 2026.”

The pick of the lot was 15-year-old Lalchungnunga, also known as the ‘Mizo Messi’, from Lunglei district, who had become a sensation.

He started playing at the age of nine, inspired by Lionel Messi.

His father Chhangte Laldinmawia, a farmer, was unaware of his son’s talent until his friends pointed it out. Being a daily wage earner, he knew supporting his child’s dream would be a difficult task. He requested relatives for financial help and even borrowed money from friends.

His proudest moment came when Lalchungnunga was selected for the India U-14 team for the AFC tournament held in Tajikistan, where he scored four goals.

Yet another player to have grabbed attention was 16-year-old left winger Ramhlunchunga. Hailing from Kolasib, he dreamt of becoming a professional footballer since school days. Winning the MVP in the Subroto Cup 2014 gave him the belief that he could go on to achieve his dream.

His father was always keen on him becoming a footballer and even changed jobs to be able to support his son. From working on the farms to doing carpentry jobs, he became a garbage collector to earn more money. Ramlunchunga was aware that the family’s financial conditions would make it difficult, but he didn’t give up.

Burzis Taraporewala, Secretary and Chief Financial Officer, Tata Trusts, said: “It is a fact that in comparison to academics, sports often takes a backseat. With the overwhelming talent in the North-East, we hope the right mix of academic and sports training will nurture children with potential.”

According to Sinha, a research on grassroots programmes across Europe gave the insight that Germans are concerned most about academics as well as focussing on local talent.

“The Bundesliga, though not the top league in Europe, is dominated by German players. The ratio of locals to foreigners is high,” said Sinha.

He pointed out that the reason India has never become a football powerhouse despite rising TV viewership is “other nations have improved significantly, pushing India down the rankings, and not because India’s quality has declined”.

“We have talented players, who aren’t given adequate training, facilities and attention. Therefore, providing global standards form a young age is significant. There is no reason why India cannot make a mark at the global level.”

Another fact pointed out was that earlier, footballers in India aimed to play for Mohun Bagan, East Bengal and Churchill Brothers.

“We have to raise the aspiration levels. What we want these kids to aim for is to feature for Man United or Bayern Munich, not just Aizawl FC or Shillong Lajong,” Sinha explained.

Sinha emphasised on the fact that while cash-rich leagues contribute in increasing popularity and interest, a league should ideally run for a longer time, with clubs setting up their own academies, and not solely relying on inducting famous foreign players.