Football in Asia

Football in Asia

Today’s topic will be resuming from the last blog.

Football in Asia is growing and it is the most popular sport in many Asian countries like India, Iran, China . According to FIFA the earliest form of football (soccer) was played in China and it was dated back to centuries.

Like there is FIFA For football on an international level there is AFC(ASIAN FOOTBALL CONFEDERATION) For Asian countries.

-: It is one of the six confederations within FIFA and is the governing body of association football in Asia and Australia. Currently, 47 countries are members of it. Australia was first a member of OFC, Later in 2006, they joined AFC.

The AFC was officially formed on 7 May 1954 in Manila, Philippines. The main headquarters is located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The current president is Salman Bin Ibrahim Al-Khalifa of Bahrain.

The Asian Ladies Football Confederation (ALFC) is the Secone of the AFC that manage women’s football in Asia. The group was independently founded in April 1968. In 1986 it merged with AFC.

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Now We will be discussing the Development and current FIFA rankings in football of Japan, South Korea, India, China and other Asian countries.

JAPAN-: Rank 26

Football is the 2nd most popular sport in Japan. Before the 1980s Japan was considered as an average football team. But it all changed when A former American football player, Tom Byer, took charge of the youth development department of the Japanese national football team. Since then, They have managed to qualify for the last 6 FIFA World cups and they also managed to win four out of the last six

Asian Football Cups and because of their success, the Japanese National team is now considered as one of the top football teams in Asia. 

The first appearance of Japan in the world cup was in 1998. Japan has qualified for 6 times till now.

2002 FIFA WORLD CUP-: HOSTED BY JAPAN AND SOUTH KOREA

SOUTH KOREA-: Rank 37th

South Korea is capturing attention from all over the world as the biggest powerhouse in Asia. It is the only Asian team to qualify for 9 consecutive times. Their first appearance in the world cup was in the year 1954.

Their best performance was in the world cup 2002 where they hold on to 4th place, this is the closest rank for any Asian team till now. In 2018, despite they failed for the round of 16 they knocked out The defending world champions Germany.

South Korea produced 2-star players, namely Heung-Min-Son is currently playing for Tottenham Hotspur football club and is recognized as one of the best players in football. Another one was Park Ji-Sung who played for teams like Manchester United, PSV and Queens Park Rangers. 

He announced his retirement in 2014 and he's currently a global ambassador for Manchester United.

NOW WE WILL DISCUSS OUR PRIDE IN OUR NATION INDIA.

INDIA-: Rank Current ---100 (5 july 2023) Highest--- 94 (February 1996) 

Lowest---173 (March 2015) 

Top scorer -: SUNIL CHHETRI-: 90 international goals 

The nickname of the Indian team-: Blue tigers

The first known official international tour of the Indian team which at that time consisted of both Indian and British players was in 1924, when it was led by Indian footballer Gostha Paul.

 The All India Football Federation (AIFF) was formed in 1937.

India played the first friendly match against Australia on 3rd September 1937 and got defeated by 5–3 and the match is considered as India’s first FIFA-recognised match.

Indian team was once considered one of the best teams in Asia, had its golden era during the 1950s and early 1960s.

 India won gold at the 1951 and 1962 Asian Games.

India finished fourth at the 1956 Summer Olympics.

 India became the first Asian nation to reach the semi-final of a FIFA organized major tournament.

 India has never participated in the FIFA World Cup, although they did qualify by default for the 1950 World Cup after all other nations in their qualification group withdrew.

 However, India withdrew prior to the beginning of the tournament .(The All India Football Federation gave various reasons for the team’s withdrawal, including travel costs, lack of practice time, and valuing the Olympics above the World Cup.)

India has also appeared four times in the AFC Asian Cup, Asia’s top football championship and finished as runners-up in 1964.

India also participated in the SAFF Championship, the top regional football competition in South Asia.

 India won the tournament seven times since it began in 1993 and by doing so became the most successful team in the region.

Now let’s talk on the support we get from our country people’s.

Till the 21st century, the Indian football fans were mostly scattered, being widely based in West Bengal, North-East India, Goa and Kerala.

 Other than matches in Asian Games, Nehru Cup or SAFF Championship, the crowd showed up in small numbers when the team played as the fans were not organised under any single banner as happens in Europe or South America.

 Fans of different clubs used to support the team at their respective local venues but were not grouped to support a single cause, that of the national team, until 2017 when “Blue Pilgrims”{The Blue Pilgrims’s most common chants are: “Oh India!”, “In Unity, we stand”, “Oh INDIA WE stand for you!”, “Vande Mataram”} was established as the first organised fan club for the national team. Their motto to support our Indian team even in the worst situations. They are known as 12the the players of the INDIAN FOOTBALL TEAM.

My experience with football-:

For as long as I can remember when I was in junior school, I developed feelings for this game. You can say, my first love is this game. This game taught me to stand up for myself for my teammates, this game taught me what true sportsmanship is.

Let’s end this blog by saying.

We bleed blue we love blue we will support blue.

Piece out ✌️