Why can't India, a nation of 1.4 billion, crack the World Cup?

The familiar lament that Indian football fans have learnt to live with has returned after the World Cup kicked off last week.

For followers of the Blue Tigers, as the Indian men's national team is known, the question is one of the sport's great cliches.

India has never progressed beyond the preliminary rounds of the Asian zone qualifiers, yet the World Cup is celebrated with fervour in football-mad states such as West Bengal, Kerala and Goa.

A growing number of accredited Indian journalists cover the tournament on the ground despite their country having no stake in it.

The irony is not lost on those in the press box. A senior Indian football writer who has covered four World Cups told the BBC that colleagues frequently ask whether India even plays football, knowing the country only as a cricket-playing nation.

The British broadcaster noted that neighbouring China, the world's second-most populous country, has also failed to qualify for the tournament.

FIFA, however, remains acutely aware of these vital markets, prompting it to dispatch a high-powered media rights team to India to secure a last-minute broadcasting deal for live coverage.

Former national team captain Baichung Bhutia believes progress is possible, though he cautions that there are no shortcuts.

He pointed out that the quota for Asian teams has risen to eight, alongside a ninth team, Iraq, which advanced through the inter-confederation play-offs in the expanded 48-team format that includes sides like Uzbekistan and Jordan.

"What is lacking is the right ecosystem as we don't have a serious grassroots programme with a long-term vision. It's the most popular team sport in the world and we will need time for the results to show,'' said Bhutia.

Shyam Thapa, 78, who helped India win bronze at the 1970 Asian Games -- the country's last major continental success -- also emphasised the need for a sustained grassroots programme, saying the key was to bring more children into the game.

The former striker, famed for his bicycle-kick goals, expressed frustration that middle-class and upper-middle-class parents are increasingly steering their children away from football and towards cricket.

He observed that many parents take their children to cricket coaching camps in hopes of landing a lucrative Indian Premier League (IPL) contract, stressing that financial rewards are also available in a professional football career.

Thapa questioned what the All India Football Federation (AIFF) has done to set an effective youth system in motion.

A closer look at the nine Asian teams that made the cut for the tournament underscores the enormity of the task ahead for India.

The contingent comprises Australia, Iran, Japan, Jordan, South Korea, Uzbekistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq, with Jordan and Uzbekistan making their tournament debuts.

Both debutants are ranked well above India in the current FIFA standings, with Uzbekistan at 52nd and Jordan at 63rd, while India has slipped to 136th following a sharp decline over the past 18 months.

The rankings highlight the scale of the challenge confronting the sport domestically. Upon taking office in 2022, Kalyan Chaubey, the first former footballer to become AIFF president, pledged to move Indian football forward from its current state rather than selling unrealistic eight-year World Cup dreams.

Nearly four years into his term, critics argue his administration has turned the federation into an object of ridicule, the BBC said.

The Indian Super League (ISL), a domestic club-based tournament launched in 2014 with backing from business leaders, Bollywood celebrities, and cricketers, faces an uncertain future.

The latest season suffered severe delays after the AIFF failed to attract bidders for a commercial partnership, leaving hundreds of players facing anxious futures.

The federation was ultimately forced to run a curtailed version of the league without commercial partners and has returned to the drawing board for the next season.

Against this backdrop, Chaubey's Vision 2047 roadmap, which promised to introduce 35 million children to football, appears to be a forgotten campaign pledge.

A brief resurgence in 2023 saw the senior men's team climb back into Fifa's top 100 after winning an invitational tournament and the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Championship.

Those gains have since largely unravelled. After raising hopes of reaching the third round of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup for the first time, India fell short and then failed to qualify for next year's AFC Asian Cup.

Former captain Sunil Chettri, who came out of retirement in 2025, said in an informal chat with media that qualifying for all Asian Cups should be the immediate goal, as it would give India regular exposure to stronger opposition.

Only after establishing themselves among Asia's top 15 to 20 nations, he said, could India realistically raise its sights to the World Cup.

With the immediate outlook remaining bleak, the AIFF leadership is pushing for a policy change to allow Overseas Citizens of India (OCI) cardholders to represent the national team.

Under current regulations, players of Indian origin holding foreign passports must renounce their citizenship to play for India, a step Australia-born Ryan Williams took before making an impression in national colours.

At this World Cup alone, four players of Indian origin are turning out for other nations: Tahsin Mohammed for Qatar, Nishan Velupillay for Australia, Sarpreet Singh for New Zealand and Samuel Moutoussamy for Congo.

For now, Indian fans will again watch from afar, cheering the Messis, Ronaldos and Neymars of the world while marvelling at the achievement of nations such as Curacao -- the smallest country ever to reach the World Cup.

The question that will not go away: if Curacao can do it, why can't India?