As the 2026 FIFA World Cup wraps up, this episode turns the lens on the domestic game – and finds it in crisis. In the latest episode of Let’s Talk About Indian Football, Abhinandan Sekhri speaks to Johnson K, founder of Sportfolio Productions and creator of an independently produced documentary series on India’s regional football cultures, about why the beautiful game here can’t get out of its own way.

Most Indian players are staring at contract uncertainty as clubs baulk at committing long-term to a league whose future is anyone’s guess. Abhinandan lays out a familiar chargesheet too – federation mismanagement, overpaid “prima donna” players, and a shortage of grassroots coaching – as reasons Indian football struggles to hold its own against the international game fans watch on television.

The conversation turns to why some cities sustain fierce football loyalty while others can’t fill stadiums despite thriving grassroots leagues. Fans in Kolkata, Kerala and Bengaluru show up in large numbers compared to Mumbai and Delhi because, according to Johnson, you’re not just going there for the football, you’re going there for the story. Ultimately, it’s identity, not just footballing quality, that draws crowds.

The two also take aim at scheduling negligence, particularly for youth and women’s football, which is played in blistering afternoon heat, and compare the ISL’s threadbare shoulder programming with Doordarshan’s more thoughtful coverage of the second-division IFL.

Watch this interview.