FIFA 2026 | India may not be playing but 20-year-old Adil Sheikh aims to be in national squad when India qualifies
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "FIFA 2026 | India may not be playing but 20-year-old Adil Sheikh aims to be in national squad when India qualifies")
Adil Sheikh in action for his Alma Mater Somaiya Vidyavihar University, Mumbai Photograph: (WION)
Mumbai-based footballer, who has played for Mumbai City FC and Durand Cup, aims to represent India in FIFA World Cup when the country qualifies in future.
The FIFA World Cup 2026 is on with Cape Verde and Curacao, tiny nations with very low population, having impressed everyone by not only qualifying, but in-tournament performance as well. In fact, Cape Verde are in Round of 32 in their maiden tournament. India, on the other hand, failed to qualify despite having a vast population and pool of resources which many of the countries playing in the tournament do not possess. The last time India had a chance to play in the FIFA World Cup was in 1950 but they didn't participate and since then, they haven't come close to qualifying for it. What is the reason behind that?
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Adil Sheikh in action for his Alma Mater Somaiya Vidyavihar University, Mumbai Photograph: (WION)
WION spoke to a nearly 20-year-old footballer Adil Sheikh, who has played for Mumbai FC U-19 and in Durand Cup as well to try and understand what it takes to be a footballer in India and how the country can bridge current gaps as well as his future plans.
"Other countries identify talent very early and then the players get full support and facilities to maximise their potential," says Adil about where the other football countries are better than India. "In India, sometime parents ask for focus on studies more while the kids abroad are allowed to explore other things apart from academics and they get full support as well to pursue those interests."
Speaking about his journey and the support in early days, Adil revealed he "started playing football in school for fun but there was not much backing."
"But when I started showing improvement and the coaches gave me good feedback so parents came around despite the skepticism regarding my future given India's football situation not being there with other sports," he added.
Adil trained at Mumbai-based Somaiya Vidyavihar University and notes that the facilities, training, and support he got at there were key in his development as a footballer.
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"Coaches helped me a lot with with physical requirements of the game at the Somaiya Sports Academy sports lab with various fitness drills involving strength, endurance, and more. During the tournament time, the coaches also helped with different playing style and keep the right attitude including aggression and tactics," he says.
While he got all the support and facilities to play the sport he likes at the Somaiya Sports Academy, there's a difference he noted between the Indian football tournaments such as ISL and other foreign leagues and says "intensity is much higher in foreign league games.
"The players are very fast and their decision making is very quick while playing completely relaxed without pressure."
On being asked how the gap can be bridged, Adil says "if children are taught early and given pathway in childhood years and we can probably match the the level of foreign footballers."
At just 20 years of age, feeling pressure is natural and Adil admits that his "game sways a bit when he takes the pressure," but he has "taught himself to not listen to others and playing for fun which helps improving the performance."
Speaking on how coaches at the Somaiya Vidyavihar University have helped him, Adil says "the coaches do get annoyed sometimes when a drill is not going on properly," but "later on they came and talk about what could have been done better and where were we going wrong" and this caring and nurturing beyond the pitch his something which helps him stay relaxed and keep pressure at bay.
In the future, Adil aims to “represent India in U-21 football and be there in the squad to represent the country when India qualifies for FIFA World Cup.”
