By Duncan Mackay
British Sports Internet Writer of the Year
March 24 – India should bid for the 2026 World Cup in an effort to improve playing standards in the country, the national coach Bob Houghton said today.
The former Bristol City manager made the claim while delivering a lecture on “The benefits of hosting mega-events” at the two-day India International Sports Summit in Mumbai.
Hougthon said: ”In 2014, Brazil will host the World Cup and in 2018 England are the favourites.
“But 2026 could be a possibility if we could have enough of world-class stadiums built in India, tap good players and improve infrastructure.”
Houghton claimed that hosting the 1994 World Cup had helped the United States become one of the world’s top international teams.
He said: ”USA, which was not a very big football playing country in 1994 was awarded the World Cup in very controversial circumstances.
“But after hosting the World Cup they made a plan to win the World Cup in 2010.
“In 1994, they hosted the World Cup and in 1996 they started their own league which culminated with David Beckham, the most widely known face in football, signed a deal with the Los Angeles Galaxy team.
“If we need to qualify for the World Cup, I genuinely believe that India should go the way that US went.
“USA used the World Cup to popularise and spread football across the country.
“Now they are ranked 13th in the world and are the only team to have beaten world number one Spain in the last 12 months.”
India first raised the prospect of hosting the 2026 World Cup last November when, as reported exclusively on insideworldfootball, Suresh Kalmadi, the President of the country’s National Olympic Committee said that they hoped this year’s Commonwealth Games in New Delhi would be the launchpad for a bid.
While 2018 is expected to be awarded to one of the four European candidates – Russia are also bidding along with joint proposals from Spain and Portugal and Holland and Belgium – 2022 the USA are again among the contenders along with Australia, Qatar, Japan and South Korea.
If one of the Asian contenders triumphed then India would not be under to able to bid again until 2030 at the earliest under FIFA’s rotation policy.
But a future bid from India, the world’s second-most populous behind China, with a population of 1.7 billion would be hugely attractive to FIFA and its sponsors.
Cricket’s Indian Premier League (IPL) has demonstrated the vast potential of the country.
The value of the IPL has grown by four times in three years and earlier this week the sale of two new franchises raised an incredible $703 million (£468 million).
Houghton, who guided Swedish club Malmo to the final of the European Cup in 1979 when they were beaten in the final by Nottingham Forest, has predicted that hosting a World Cup could be the only way to develop football in India.
It was Britain who introduced the sport to India and the first recorded game there took place between “Calcutta Club of Civilians” and “The Gentlemen of Barrackpore” in 1854
The Indian Football Association (IFA) was established in Calcutta in 1893, but did not have a single Indian on its board until the 1930s.
The team qualified for the 1950 World Cup finals in Brazil, but could not appear as they still played bare feet at the time.
Under Houghton, who has been in charge since 2006, India have won the Nehru Cup twice.
But he has warned that it could take many years for India to qualify again for the World Cup unless the pace of development pickens up.
He said: ”In my three-and-a-half years as coach the most frequently asked question was that when will India play in the World Cup.
“I don’t know when India will play in the World Cup.
“But I guarantee you given the current infrastructure in the country, India will never make it to the World Cup.
“At present there is only one stadium in India matching international standards, in Chennai.
“Surprisingly there is no football playing club there.
“India will play the World Cup qualifiers for the 2014 World Cup there without home support.”
Contact the writer of this story at zib.s1734798826emage1734798826htedi1734798826sni@y1734798826akcam1734798826.nacn1734798826ud1734798826
Related stories
November 2009: India hope to use Commonwealth Games to bid for World Cup