India can enter FIFA WC in five years if people in power change their thinking’: Sumit Rathi

India are currently ranked 136th in the FIFA men’s rankings and have struggled for consistency at the international level despite the growth of domestic football and increased investment in the sport.

New Delhi: Indian footballer Sumit Rathi believes India can qualify for the FIFA World Cup within five years if the country changes its footballing mindset and focuses seriously on grassroots development but warned that continuing with the same system could delay progress for decades.

India are currently ranked 136th in the FIFA men’s rankings and have struggled for consistency at the international level despite the growth of domestic football and increased investment in the sport.

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Rathi warned that unless administrators, clubs and support staff change their thinking, India’s football dream could remain distant for decades. “We should work on developing football at the grassroots level, and people in power need to change their thinking,”

Rathi told IANS. “It can be a club, a coach, a physio or anyone. If that thought changes, we can see results in five years. But if things continue in the same repeated mode, then even 15 years is less. It can take 50 years,” he added. “There are a lot of things where we should make a proper mindset. We should think long-term, not short-term. We are not competing with 10 or 15 countries. Football is such a game that any team can win on any day. The competition level is increasing day by day. Other countries are also improving,” he added.

The defender stressed that grassroots football and player development must become the biggest priority if India wants to compete consistently at the highest level. “We should definitely work better on the grounds and grassroots. We should have a vision of how we can give competitive matches to the national team. You are investing so much, and you have everything, but if you don’t produce proper strikers, defenders, midfielders and goalkeepers, then difficulties are going to come,” he said.

According to Rathi, Indian clubs especially in Indian Super League, should trust domestic players more in important positions rather than depending heavily on foreign footballers. “In our clubs, the major positions should be played by Indians. Automatically, we will improve and represent India at the FIFA level soon. The level I have played at, I think, there is only a small difference. The difference is that we are getting fewer competitive matches,” Rathi explained.

He also backed the inclusion of overseas Indian-origin players like Ryan Williams in the national setup, saying it could speed up India’s progress significantly. “If one or two main centre-backs, full-backs, midfielders or strikers of Indian origin play for us, the work of five years can happen in two years,”