Mumbai. In a clear indication of how good the country was doing in football, India today featured in the list of top 50 nations with the best performing fans even though the national football team had earlier slipped one spot to end at 133th position. The ranking was released by FIFA, the international governing body of association football on Monday morning, becoming only the second sports body after ICC to recognize fans.
“It’s a great achievement and our efforts have been recognized. I use this opportunity to congratulate my colleagues and the football fans of India.” said Praful Patel, the President of All India Football Federation (AIFF).
AIFF could rope in Vijay Mallya and suspended IPL commissioner Lalit Modi to devise strategy to gain higher points on other factors where Indian fans were ranked low in the FIFA Fans World Ranking
Mr. Patel clarified that his association with IPL helped him build a strategy to put Indian football fans right among the best ones in the world. He argued that the success of IPL created the ground for football following among the Indian citizens.
“When a person living in Indore followed and supported a team called Bangalore Royal Challengers, he realized that he could as well follow and support a team called Ghana while living in India. The right attitude among the Indian masses was inculcated then and there.” argued Patel.
The AIFF President might not be way off the mark in claiming so as the rankings released by FIFA confirm that Indian fans had got the maximum points for supporting diverse number of teams during the past one year. Even though Indians scored pathetically low on rioting, threatening players, streaking, blowing vuvuzelas or showing their bare or colored skins, other factors helped them break into the big league.
“Apart from supporting diverse number of teams, Indian fans have also been ranked high on using social networking websites like facebook and twitter to discuss football.” informed Praful Patel, adding, “Again, use of twitter could be traced to our IPL strategy.”
AIFF is planning to award a bonus term to Mr. Patel for this success so that Indian fans score new highs under his leadership. But this step might meet resistance from the opposition BJP and Sports Minister M S Gill, who doesn’t favor long terms of sports bodies’ administrators.
“Mr. Patel should not take credit for something that was made possible by Shakira.” BJP spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad said, criticizing the AIFF President for misleading the nation.
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because of politics Football is in mess despite being popular in India
Dont blame everythng on politicians and poltcs. Indian football fans r all fake, they watch football just for being cool.
that makes no sense, you got to check out at inter school level football has always been ‘the’ game …… its sad that Indian team stands nowhere in footballing world else cricket would no longer remain the most popular sport in India .
cricket without Sachin is boring in any case
Politics is surely not to blame…i guess that we are just not competent enough to play international leavel football…need to practice harder and harder….
you cricket fans are nonsense .and having 2 billion people in india and cant produce foot ball players . because cricketers now youngsters play only to get a bollywood ladies and there is no original sport of cricket played in india .. but football india can make it happen .. but being indian we always think to become ronaldo in a single night thats impossible .. which needs a lots of history and sacrifice i would love india in a fifa tournment but i wish players stay out of india and play for the country .. because the allegations made by politics and every news medias never makes india a footballing team
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Lame..Very lame
Your father should have named you Akashdeep LAME Singh
LOL! I am amazed to discover so many football fans these days in India
i KNOW!!
suddenly everyone knows who Messi and Ronaldo are lol!!
its like people are using wikipedia a lot, suddenly,, just to appear knowledgeable about football
whats really funny is, i have heard atleast 7 different explanations for the ‘offside’ rule in football, and not one of them makes any sense
yo man there are always football fans in india but noone realises that ..
Shakira!? lol! maybe yeah
ha ha! reality of Indian football and football fans
no buddy make it happen in 5 years …….that would make us a status..
Hey Akhil…I agree that Football is certainly popular than cricket but since cricket pours more money then any other sport in the country, hence is given priority. I guess 20-25 years is a too longer period to wait….need to do something soon.
tum sab jhadgo..my comment..photo main beech wali acchi hai
Yaar..Right side waali bhi buri nahi hain
is the newsreal it looks so true