New Delhi: The world’s most popular and biggest tournament, the FIFA World Cup 2022, begins on November 20, 2022. The final match of the Football Mahakumbh to be played in Qatar will be played on December 18. This World Cup could be the last for great players like Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo.
A total of 32 teams are participating in the FIFA World Cup 2022. However, India’s name is not on the list of teams participating in the Football World Cup. because the Indian team has failed to qualify again for the FIFA World Cup. The Sunil Chhetri-led Indian team crashed out of the second round of the qualifiers. Six teams from the Asian continent, including Qatar, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Japan, and South Korea, along with Australia, will take part in the FIFA World Cup. Notably, India has never qualified for the Football World Cup.
Not allowed to play barefoot
In 1950, the Indian team qualified for the World Cup held in Brazil. However, the team could not play the match. The biggest reason was the habit of playing indian players barefoot at that time. This became the main problem for the party. Mohammed Abdul Saleem, an Indian footballer, played barefoot for Scottish football club Celtic in his time. According to FIFA rules, players can wear shoes and play the World Cup. But the Indian players were not used to playing football wearing shoes. Therefore, the Indian team refused to play in the 1950 FIFA World Cup.
And India could not qualify
The second reason was that the matches were to be held abroad. The government along with the Indian Football Association had refused to bear the expenses. But FIFA was ready to bear the cost of India’s trip. However, India could not participate in the tournament. India could not play the FIFA World Cup due to selection disputes within the team and lack of practice.
The team’s ranking is very poor
It is a matter of regret for the fans that India has not been able to qualify for this mega event of football since the 1950 World Cup. India is at the bottom of the FIFA rankings. The team is ranked 106th. That is, the top-100 are not included in the country.
Which channel you can watch live on
Although India is not participating in this tournament, the Indian crowd can easily enjoy the Football World Cup. Indian fans will be able to watch all the matches of the FIFA World Cup 2022 live on the TV channel Star Sports. You can also watch live streaming on Jio Cinema. Football World Cup matches can be watched at 3:30 pm IST, 6:30 pm IST, 8:30 pm, 9:30 pm and 12:30 pm IST.