Year-Ender 2025: Indian Football’s Lost Year, Defined By Chaos And Decline

Indian football endured one of its most turbulent and dispiriting years in recent memory in 2025, as administrative paralysis, financial uncertainty and on-field failures combined to push the sport deeper into crisis.

While fleeting moments of success, mainly by the women’s and junior teams, briefly captured public attention, the broader ecosystem remained mired in disorder, with little evidence of a roadmap for recovery.

Senior Men’s Team Faces Repeated Humiliation

From a performance standpoint, the Indian senior men’s team continued its downward spiral, reinforcing concerns that had already surfaced in 2024. Although the side managed a handful of victories this year – including a bronze medal finish at the CAFA Nations Cup in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan in September – those results offered only momentary relief.

In matches that truly mattered, India failed to deliver. The most painful blow came in November in Dhaka, when the national side suffered a 1-0 defeat to Bangladesh in an AFC Asian Cup 2027 qualifier, marking India’s first loss to their neighbours in 22 years.

Sheikh Morsalin’s early strike, slipping the ball through Gurpreet Singh Sandhu’s legs, became a symbol of the team’s vulnerability and erosion of regional dominance.

That result, coupled with defeats to Hong Kong and Singapore, ensured India failed to qualify for the AFC Asian Cup for the first time since 2011, triggering a further slide in the FIFA rankings.

While India did register more wins than the winless 2024 campaign, the absence of consistency, goals and composure in pressure situations defined the year.

AIFF In Disarray: ISL Stalled, Future In Doubt

Off the pitch, the situation was even more alarming. Indian football remained trapped in a deep administrative crisis after the All India Football Federation (AIFF) failed to secure a new commercial partner for the Indian Super League (ISL) following the expiry of its agreement with Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL) on December 8.

The consequences were immediate and severe. The ISL, which would ordinarily have been well into its season by now, remained suspended. Sponsors began pulling out, clubs froze operations, and players faced growing uncertainty over contracts and livelihoods.

The impasse exposed deeper structural flaws, including poor governance, absence of long-term planning, and a failure to build sustainable youth and commercial pipelines, that have long plagued the sport.

GOAT Spectacle Amid Court Cases

The year was punctuated by frequent Supreme Court hearings and repeated intervention by the Union sports ministry, underscoring the gravity of the crisis. Even President Droupadi Murmu urged football stakeholders to work collectively for the upliftment of the sport, a rare and telling appeal from the highest office.

When the Supreme Court approved the draft AIFF Constitution prepared by former judge L Nageswara Rao in September, there was cautious optimism that a consensus-driven resolution might finally emerge. That hope, however, faded quickly as little progress followed in the months thereafter.

Amid this gloom, the Lionel Messi GOAT Tour of India briefly reignited public interest and conversation around football. While the chaos and breakdown of law and order at Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata on the opening day proved deeply embarrassing, the remaining legs in Hyderabad, Mumbai, and Delhi were conducted smoothly.

Messi’s India tour delivered spectacle, but as expected, it offered no tangible solution to Indian football’s systemic problems, even if the Argentine legend backed India to have a bright future in the game.

Women’s Team, Juniors Offer Hope

Amid an otherwise bleak year, the performances of the women’s national team and junior sides provided genuine reasons for optimism.

In July in Chiang Mai, the Indian women’s team created history by qualifying directly for the AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2026 for the first time ever.

Facing hosts and regional heavyweights Thailand in the final, India produced a composed performance, with Sangita Basfore’s brace sealing a landmark victory.

At the club level, East Bengal FC, the reigning Indian Women’s League champions, became the first Indian team to win a main-draw match in the AFC Women’s Champions League, earning a direct berth in the league stage of the next edition.

The junior teams also delivered. India lifted its seventh SAFF U-17 Championship title in Sri Lanka after edging Bangladesh on penalties following a dramatic 2-2 draw. Under Bibiano Fernandes, the U-17 side then produced a stunning 2-1 win over Iran to qualify for their 10th AFC U-17 Asian Cup finals.

(With PTI Inputs)