‘Support Shouldn’t Be Selective’: Sandesh Jhingan On India’s Football Fan Divide Amid Lionel Messi’s GOAT Tour

While the Indian Super League (ISL) and I-League, the country’s domestic football competitions, struggle to secure sponsorship bids, endangering the future of hundreds of Indian football players, Indian football player Sandesh Jhingan voiced concerns about the money spent on Argentina football legend Lionel Messi’s ‘GOAT India Tour.’ According to Jhingan, the nation ‘Does love the sport, but perhaps not enough to support their own players’ in his analysis of the circumstances.

Lionel Messi’s GOAT India Tour

Thousands of fans flocked to stadiums to catch a glimpse of Argentina’s FIFA World Cup winning icon waving at them and kicking a football into the stands during Messi’s visit to Kolkata, Hyderabad, Mumbai, and Delhi, demonstrating how a country as passionate about cricket as India is also quite passionate about football. The visit to Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata gave the tour a chaotic start, as passionate fans took out their anger on VIPs and politicians who hogged Messi’s attention and because of how Messi left earlier than expected, showing the well-known love of West Bengal state for football. The visits to other cities produced several crossover moments, with Messi meeting Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi in Hyderabad, Indian cricket and football icons Sachin Tendulkar and Sunil Chhetri at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai and International Cricket Council (ICC) chairman Jay Shah and Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta in Delhi at Arun Jaitley Stadium.

While the visuals from the tour garnered extensive news and social media coverage and dominated social media trend charts, India’s domestic football struggled to breathe, as the first tier ISL and second tier I League competitions have yet to find takers. Also, the Indian national football team failed to qualify for the AFC Asian Cup 2027, losing to Bangladesh, ranked 180th.
Taking to Instagram, Jhingan expressed happiness at his country’s love for football, but questioned if all the involved stakeholders are getting their priorities right.

What Did Sandesh Jhingan Say?

‘Now that the euphoria of the past few days of the entire country suddenly embracing football has settled somewhat, I felt compelled to share my thoughts. First and foremost, it genuinely made me happy to see that our country does love football, that it can fill stadiums to full capacity and that people are willing to spend lakhs to witness the sport. What troubles me, however, and leaves me deeply reflective, is that at a time when our own football ecosystem is in jeopardy, arguably facing one of its most difficult phases, we stand on the brink of having no active domestic football ahead of us. It feels as though we are close to shutting everything down because there is no willingness to invest in football within India, yet crores were spent on this tour.

‘What this tells me is that we do love the sport, but perhaps not enough to support our own players,’ he said. Jhingan also acknowledged that, as one of the team’s most senior players, he had ‘accepted responsibility’ for his team’s recent dismal performance. Additionally, he expressed optimism that the Indian football squad will experience ‘good days’ once more. While he was pleased that some fans had a ‘once in a lifetime moment’ by seeing Messi up close, the veteran also hoped that the event would ‘spark a deeper conversation not just about loving football, but about sustaining it at home. I take responsibility for my performances and am conscious of the criticism we receive. However, football is not a stand alone sport.

Anyone who properly understands the game realises how profoundly structure, stability, and belief influence what ultimately happens on the pitch. We’ve had pleasant days in the past. And we can get them once more. To be honest, I’m starting to doubt a lot of things. Having said that, I am very happy that millions of people witnessed their dreams come true and had a once in a lifetime experience. I just hope that this event leads to a more in depth discussion about maintaining football at home as well as about loving it,’ he said.

(With Inputs From ANI)

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