India ranks third in the top 10 countries searching for FIFA World Cup on Google. A Nielsen online global survey claims half the country is crazy about football. KASMIN FERNANDES meets football worshippers hidden in a crowd of cricket-crazed junta

India ranks third in the top 10 countries searching for FIFA World Cup on Google. A Nielsen online global survey claims half the country is crazy about football.u00a0Kasmin Fernandesu00a0meets football worshippers hidden in a crowd of cricket-crazed junta

Nearly half our cricket-crazy country -- 47 per cent -- claim to be football fans, according to the latest Nielsen global online survey conducted between March 8 and March 26. India ranks 10th globally in its love for the high-energy game. "Football is considered more edgy and unpredictable, especially in comparison to cricket. The rough and tough image of football is endearing to fans. The 90-minute game never sees a dull moment, it's quick and suits today's viewers who are hard-pressed for time," says Piyush Mathur, president, India, The Nielsen Company.

Despite the non-existence of the Indian team at the FIFA World Cup that kicked off in Johannesburg on June 11, it's a surprise that a high rate of Indians -- 56 per cent -- plan to follow the game. Says Mathur, "The appeal of FIFA in India has extended beyond football fans; it has become a social event that draws non-sports fans together to bond and have a good time."u00a0

Ex-Chelsea player Keith Dublin coaches kids from Indian Tigers Football
Academy that has centres in Juhu and Kandivli

Kishore DF
The Mumbai restaurateur has dedicated a wall at his Khar restobar WTF! to
his all-time favourite team Arsenal. He is flying to Johannesburg for the FIFA
World Cup finals scheduled for July 11. Pic/Vikas Munipalle

Great TV viewing
Perhaps that explains why, in another survey by the same research firm, only 15 per cent Indians intended to travel to South Africa to watch the games.

Eight in 10 will follow the live telecast on television, and 51 per cent will catch the delayed broadcasts and highlights.

According to a recent report by TAM Media Research, among non-cricket sports, football is at number one in India. There are 83 million football viewers in the country and 55 per cent of them watch domestic leagues.

"The game has attracted 60 per cent more audiences in the last five years and three times the number of advertisers since 2005," reports Associated Press. The numbers are encouraging, considering India's national team is placed at a low 133 in the international rankings, sandwiched between Fiji and Bermuda.

Tomorrow's footballers
Then there is a little experiment called Indian Tigers Football Academy being tended to by Garreth Hall, Keith Dublin, David Lee, Clive Walker -- all ex-Chelsea. Two ex-Chelsea players fly down to India every six months to coach and check on kids getting a year-round training in football at their Juhu and Kandivli centres.

Says Sherley Singh, the academy's founder and chairperson, "About two years ago, when my son was 13, he was passionate about football and wanted to become a football player. I looked around for a coaching programme and was disappointed with the options. There were no year-round football programmes in the city."u00a0

Luckily, Singh ran into folks from the Chelsea Old Boys network who assisted her in starting Indian Tigers.

Man U guys at Lavasa
Manchester City officials were in Lavasa near Lonavla this year, looking to set up a Manchester Academy. Sources say the academy will train children from 9 to 18. Apart from a constant physical presence, the club will have online training facilities for its students too. The job will initially be undertaken by the academy's coaches before they identify local coaches and train them to take over.

Future in the East
Top honchos at FIFA have stated, more than once, that football's future "is in the East". "The time to start is now," FIFA chief Sepp Blatter said on his first official visit to India in 2008. "I want to wake the sleeping giant." "FIFA and AFC (Asian Football Confederation) are very keen to bring India in the Asian mainstream," football critic Jaydeep Basu recently told Associated Press.

The recent signing of attacker Sunil Chhetri by the Kansas City Wizards in the US Major League Soccer (MLS) has also raised hopes that other players will breakthrough internationally. India also got a taste of European
football when Kolkata hosted top German side Bayern Munich in 2008 for a farewell match for former German international goalkeeper Oliver Kahn.

The guys with the moves
Freestyle football -- think the improvised but supercharged mutant version of football tricks -- is also getting a leg up. Street Kings of India is pulling out all stops to promote the sport. The five members -- co-founders Yanger Lemtur and Ikron David Luikham, Aditya Pawar, Manik Misra and Michael Keishing -- have been performing across India and at competitions abroad. "The main reason we formed the group was to promote freestyle football in India. We want to take it to the masses, onto the streets," says co-founder Lemtur. The fact that they've bagged endorsements and ad commercials, brings hope for Indian lovers of the sport.

The Street Kings of India freestylers

Aditya Pawar, 17

Ikron David Luikham, 19

Michael Keishing, 18

Manik Misra, 21u00a0Pics/Rajeev Tyagi

Man U vs Arsenal
While Manchester United recently opened a bar at Palladium Mall in Lower Parel's High Street Phoenix, Arsenal fans are not too far behind. Die-hard Gooner Kishore DF has dedicated an entire wall to Arsenal memorabilia at his newest Khar eatery WTF! "A bunch of us Gooners from Bandra watch the matches live in Europe," says the restaurateur, who had organised a massive screening of the 2006 FIFA World Cup for an 800-plus crowd at the now defunct Seijo and the Soul Dish. In fact, he's flying to Jo'Burg for the finals slated for July 11.

Amreen Bhujwala would be proud. Says the 20 year-old Gooner girl, "I grew up in a family where cricket held the highest place and girls weren't supposed to indulge in outdoor activities." Bhujwala broke the unwritten rules when she fell in love with French striker Thierry Henry, eight years ago.

Arsenal blogger and amateur goalie Amreen Bhujwala guards the goal
post at a game at the Karnataka Sporting Association ground in Churchgate.
On weekends, she turns goalie for a game of football at Juhu beach -- she's
the only girl in the team of 12 with the exception of a defender. Pic/ Suresh KK

The BMM grad has been a Gooner girl since then, and connects with fans across the world through her Arsenal blog (bloggerani.wordpress.com/). She is also a guest blogger on 11Gunners.com, the unofficial Arsenal FC blog.
On weekends, she turns goalie for a game of football at Juhu beach -- she's the only girl in the team of 12 with the exception of a defender. "Not one interview escapes me; every article is cut out and pasted in my Gooner-book. Blogging about Arsenal and making the 'Gunner's Girls' page on Facebook has helped me get in touch with others who share the same passion," she says.

Heard this?

India tops FIFA search
The fact that our team has never made it to FIFA hasn't deterred surfers. Recent data on search trends released by Google, ranks India at no. 3 in the volume of search queries for FIFA World Cup 2010. Web users in Karnataka topped the charts for online soccer frenzy, with Maharashtra at second place and Tamil Nadu coming in third. Some of the key FIFA-related searches were: 'World Cup 2010', 'FIFA 2010 schedule', 'FIFA tickets' and merchandise like 'FIFA jerseys'.