'The most worrying fact is that young people are becoming less and less interested in football. The current competitions, as designed today, do not attract spectators' interest, except in the final stage.'
Having started the year in the 129th position, the Sunil Chhetri-led team end the year at 105th spot in the FIFA rankings
All you must know about soccer's return to action after coronavirus
"On average, the victor outperforms the global market by 3.5 per cent in the first month - a meaningful amount, although the outperformance fades significantly after three months," the Goldman Sachs report says.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field.
India stun Argentina in U-20 COTIF Cup football tourney
Atletico Madrid midfielder Koke is part of a fresh generation of Spain players aiming to make an impact in Euro 2016 qualifying and says he would be happy if he achieves half the success of retired great Xavi.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Captain Luca Modric, who with Ivan Perisic and Dejan Lovren forms a high class but ageing core to the team, says they fear no-one and they will have done their homework on the Samurai Blue.
The VAR system took several minutes to confirm the ball had not gone out before Mitoma's touch
Monika explains that girls like her living in villages have no access to fashion. Access to "nice clothes" and the freedom to wear them, she tells Geetanjali Krishna, could go a long way in developing the confidence of young girls like herself.
Spain coach Vicente del Bosque has called Atletico Madrid's Brazil-born forward Diego Costa into his squad for the first time for this month's friendlies away to Equatorial Guinea and South Africa.
Morocco are happy to sit back and look to punish opponents on the counter-attack using the speed and skill of Hakim Ziyech
The weekend was a goal-feast with footballers from all over Europe keeping their names on the scoresheet. Rediff.com brings you the top goal-scorers of the weekend.
The early signs from the Confederations Cup are that Brazil's fans can help rather than hinder the team at home, reports of Spain's demise are premature and the heat is going to cause problems for everyone at the World Cup.
Rediff.com lists the footballers who died while playing, in the last decade.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
The shadow of their disappointing 2014 World Cup campaign still hangs over Spain as they prepare to defend their European Championship crown in France next month, according to coach Vicente del Bosque.
Real Madrid fans and players showed their support for Vinicius Jr who was subjected to racial abuse over the weekend.
Former Barcelona and Spain midfielder Xavi has backed incoming ManchesterCity manager Pep Guardiola to leave his mark on the Premier League after taking over from the departing Manuel Pellegrini on July 1.
A leap in commercial and broadcast revenue lifted Manchester United into second place behind Real Madrid on the list of the world's richest clubs in 2013-14, according to Deloitte's latest Football Money League.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Spain's Javier Siverio produced the solitary goal as East Bengal beat Punjab FC 1-0 in the final Group A game to qualify for the knockout stages of the Durand Cup in Kolkata on Wednesday.
City will look to extend lead against United at Old Trafford
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
The 2022 Qatar World Cup has produced some very odd results, which is why it's been so much fun.
New Zealand opened the ninth Women's World Cup with a shock win against former champions Norway on Thursday
Proud Morocco want to build African legacy after World Cup run, says Regragui
Casillas was married to sports journalist Sara Carbonero for five years before their separation in March 2021. The couple has two sons.
India's ranking among Asian Football Confederation members, however, still remained static at 19th place
AC Milan coach Sinisa Mihajlovic has dismissed complaints about a Nigel de Jong tackle during Tuesday's friendly match against Bayern Munich by saying that "football is not ballet."
Martinez stepped down as Belgium's coach following his side's World Cup group stage exit
"It's a difficult journey that any LGBTQ+ ppl have to go through. To see my role models and legends of the game, make fun out of coming out and of my community, is beyond disrespectful," Cavallo said.
Simeone urges Atletico fans to keep violence out of football 'I don't think this (violence) has anything to do with sport and it seems they are using sport to make a greater impact'
France substitute Kylian Mbappe engineered two late goals to rescue a 2-2 draw against Iceland and spare the blushes of the world champions in their friendly.
European champions Spain produced a quality exhibition of tiki-taka as they decimated Iran 3-1 to reach the semi-finals of the FIFA Under-17 World Cup, at the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium in Kochi, on Sunday.
Regarded as one of the best centre backs of his generation, Pique collected 35 trophies during his 18-year career.
