r/indiasports

They are literally an African country with a mere 500K people. They didn't even have good facilities. They literally called their defender on LinkedIn when he was doing a job for living and left it to join them for the WC.

And then there is a country with over 1.4B people, more resources than that country and still couldn't even make it to the WC and yet they are still crying about cricket.

This is shameful.

Recent mainstream media reports suggest that the push for OCI (Overseas Citizen of India) players to represent the national team is stronger than ever. This initiative isn't just for football; it is aimed at boosting India’s medal tally for the 2036 Olympic Games and the upcoming Commonwealth Games. The government wants the Indian diaspora to represent the country internationally. Recently, during Passport Seva Divas, officials emphasized that a passport is a travel document, not the sole metric of citizenship. In countries like Suriname, even sixth-generation individuals of Indian origin are eligible for OCI status.

However, sports rules have traditionally been rigid. In football, players previously had to surrender their foreign passports and obtain an Indian passport, or qualify via a strict 5-year residency rule to represent India. Some sports journalists are speculating that this new discussion is a 'water-testing' exercise to gauge public reaction. Furthermore, the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports reportedly submitted a proposal for a 'Sports Passport'—a framework that grants sporting eligibility without giving full legal citizenship, similar to how Middle Eastern countries like Qatar and the UAE operate. What is your take on this?

18Y old college student here and I'm researching on what went wrong with Indian sports.

Genuinely trying to understand what frustrates people in Indian sports day to day. Sure India is good at a couple of sports but despite us having the highest population why can't we get medals like the USA/China in the olympics, why is cricket only the mainstream sport here?. What went so wrong with Indian football? etc. Sure politics and corruption are major contributors to it but there must be other factors or gaps which us as a community need to be concerned about. There should be a viable solution to these problems right.

Get asked this a lot and there's a huge range of quotes floating around so figured I'd lay it out properly.

A basic 5-a-side artificial turf (roughly 40x25m) in India right now runs anywhere from 18 to 35 lakhs depending on a few things.

The surface itself is the most visible cost but not always the biggest one. FIFA Quality Pro certified turf from an international manufacturer costs more than locally sourced material. The difference in longevity is real though, around 4-5 years on average.

What most quotes leave out or underquote is the base work. Proper sub-base compaction, drainage layer, and leveling can add 6-10 lakhs on its own. Contractors who come in low are almost always cutting here.

Shock pad is another 3-5 lakhs that regularly gets dropped from quotes to win the bid. Players feel the difference immediately. Joints feel the difference over years.

Floodlighting for evening use adds another 4-8 lakhs depending on pole height and lux levels needed.

So a properly built 5-a-side turf done right is closer to 28-40 lakhs all in. Anything quoted well below that deserves a close look at what's been removed.

Happy to break down specific components if anyone's planning something.

I’m not super deep into betting apps, mostly just follow cricket and football casually. Lately, I've been seeing a lot of mixed things online about pretty much every platform out there, so it’s hard to know what’s real and what’s just angry reviews. For instance, I was looking into 1x bet since it's quite popular, but the feedback is completely polarized. Some users claim they face sudden verification loops or payment delays, while others say everything goes smoothly once the documentation is sorted.

It also makes me wonder how these international companies even operate here legally, especially when local options like Dream11 are constantly facing strict regulations and bans. I'd really love to hear some honest experiences regarding withdrawals and legality before I actually try putting any money into this.

Would like to know more and in detail about Indian football from folks deeply involved in the ecosystem. What are your thoughts in general on the challenges and the hopes, how can we help to support the ecosystem. Also, what are your thoughts on the podcast, it was a rude awakening for me to realize how deeply challenged our ecosystem is.