Sunil Chhetri's moving appeal to fellow indians

Sunil Chhetri has posted the heart-rending message on Instagram and Twitter asking fellow Indians to turn up at the stadium and watch the team play at the ongoing Intercontinental Cup 2018 in Mumbai. Chhetri, who was his phenomenal self in India’s 5-0 win over Chinese Taipei, in which he scored a hattrick, said, “To everyone who is not a football fan, please come and watch us for two reasons. No. 1 it’s the best game in the world and no. 2 we play for our country. We will make sure that once you come to watch us, you will not go back as the same person.” He also added, “abuse us, criticise us, but please come to watch the Indian national team play.”

With the video going viral on social media, local football fans are lamenting the lack of support for Indian football. “I felt pretty bad when I saw the video. Chhetri’s a legend! I’ve been privileged enough to watch him for several seasons. If he has to come down to pleading, it’s really sad. Fans need to decide whether all the talk of thinking beyond cricket is mere lip service or if they are genuinely willing to give football a chance. If they can think of United and Liverpool as ‘us’ and ‘we’, while continuing to ignore Indian football, they need to take a good, hard look at themselves. Lastly, if they haven’t seen Chhetri and our other boys play, it’s entirely their loss,” says freelance writer Ullas Marar.

India has plenty of overzealous football aficionados who root for European clubs. But when it comes to supporting our very own Blue Tigers, we’re far behind. Chhetri even added, “Many who are fans of big European clubs and support them with so much passion, think that Indian football isn’t at the same level. Agreed, it’s not even close. But with our desire and determination, we will make sure to make it worth your time.”

Data scientist Rakshith Ponnathpur feels the situation is an unfortunate one. He says, “There’s no dearth of football fans in urban India. But many have a condescending attitude towards Indian football because they are accustomed to seeing world-class football played by the European clubs they worship. Mumbai has football fans in lakhs. Screenings of European matches are attended by thousands. If all of this had translated into supporting Indian football too, then Chhetri wouldn’t have had to make this video. It’s this section that he’s targeting — the ones who know football, but deliberately remain indifferent towards Indian football.”

Eighteen-year-old Rolan Gomes from Udupi, an ardent desi football fan, may not have watched India’s games live, but he supports the team during every single match. “I got very emotional when I saw the video. Indian football needs a developmental push from AIFF, which I don’t see coming. The authorities concerned must take strict action to ensure that football reaches a status as high as that of cricket in India,” he says. Adds Ullas, “We need better promotion from AIFF rather than hastily put together tournaments or friendlies. We need to have a calendar to begin with.”

With India taking on Kenya on June 4 at Mumbai, which would incidentally be captain Chhetri’s 100th international match, let’s hope that Indians go out in huge numbers to root for the national squad. Go Blues! 

tweet talks
Virat Kohli (@imVkohli)
Please take notice of my good friend and Indian football skipper @chetrisunil11’s post and please make an effort.

Suriya (@i_m_suriya)
@chetrisunil11 My heart breaks when a player like chhetri (who is just behind Ronaldo and Messi in international goals for their country) requests people to support the game! With encouragement and support I am sure team India will qualify for WC one day!

Anuradha RF20  (@ann_ac22)
@kabhinav08 @chetrisunil11 
I know....it was such a good match yesterday! And only one stand was barely filled. For fans of football it hurts to see our nation just not bothered about this bful sport. And he’s doing so much from his side for Indian Football... He deserves better