The ongoing football World Cup has been widely followed in India and the passion of football enthusiasts have even led them to travel to Qatar, the host nation, and witness live action at the stadiums. But what has been intriguing is the flavour of the on-going Indian Super League (ISL) across the World Cup venues in the form of Indian football fans.
The passionate supporters have headed to World Cup donning their ISL colours. The fans were spotted in Qatar wearing ISL club jerseys and scarves and holding flags and banners bearing crests or names of their respective favourite ISL teams.
With fans of almost all ISL clubs showing their passion for the clubs, the global arena is surely witnessing Indian football colours as the knockout action heats up at World Cup.
At Al Janoub Stadium in Qatar, during a match between Uruguay and Ghana, a group of Kerala Blasters fans were spotted sitting behind one of the goals, wearing the Blasters colours and waving the Uruguayan flag. They also carried a small poster that read, “Supporting Uruguay for our magician Uruguayan,” with a picture of Blasters’ star striker, Uruguayan Adrian Luna next to it. Several other fans were spotted across almost all the venues that hosted World Cup matches.
A member of West Block Blues, Bengaluru FC fan group, Sunil Markal was in attendance at Education City Stadium where Morocco knocked Spain out on penalties in the pre-quarterfinals. Sunil was sporting his Bengaluru jersey and was surrounded by Moroccan fans, who he said were intrigued about the one person not donning the red of either Spain or Morocco.
“Bengaluru FC is the club of my heart, and whichever match I attend, I always have a BFC jersey or scarf with me. The Blues are the biggest motivation for me,” said Sunil, who drew curious questions about his jersey and the club from Moroccan fans. “A lot of Morocco fans were inquisitive because I was the only person wearing a unique jersey amidst a sea of red, so I told them about BFC,” he said.
This burst of passion for Indian clubs is not a new phenomenon. The passion and interest in Indian football in the time of World Cup has also been visible during the ongoing ISL, as fans have had the opportunity to see their teams play at stadiums after a two-year break due to pandemic.
The opening clash of the new season between Kerala Blasters and East Bengal was sold out and that has set the tone for the rest of the season. Fans have turned out in great numbers all through the season, despite World Cup going on simultaneously, to show their participation in India’s footballing journey and have now shown their willingness to take this commitment to the global platform.
