India Has Never Played at a FIFA World Cup, Yet It May Already Be Foo…

India has never played at a FIFA World Cup. Today, however, the country has become Instagram’s second-largest football audience globally. In every other major football market – be it Brazil, Argentina, Germany, France or Portugal – digital fandom is fuelled by national pride. What is powering this phenomenon in India? Is it simply the size of the population, or is there something else at work? What are the implications for Zee, the official broadcaster, the football federation, franchises, players and content creators?

More than 10% of the followers of FIFA’s official Instagram account are from India. Likewise, Cristiano Ronaldo alone has 81 million followers in India, while Lionel Messi has more than 56 million. Combined, the two icons command an Indian audience approaching 140 million people. These figures suggest that Indians follow football culture and are emotionally invested in the sport. This is perhaps the first truly digital-first sporting generation.

For Zee, the official broadcaster, the opportunity is far bigger than broadcasting 104 matches every four years. The challenge is to convert digital followers into habitual fans by rethinking sports broadcasting beyond television. Quite clearly, millions of Indians are not waiting for a 90-minute telecast – the late-night kick-off times do not help either. While highlight packages attract significant viewership, audiences are increasingly consuming goals, celebrations, memes, player reactions and fan culture within seconds of them happening. For Zee, the need of the hour is to generate hundreds of pieces of social content in multiple languages from every match.

Cricket owes part of its popularity to the fact that creators are now just as influential as commentators. Football, too, needs regional creators explaining tactics, culture and rivalries. A relentless focus on localisation is equally critical. One Argentina goal should inspire a Hindi reaction, a Malayalam celebration, a Bangla tactical breakdown, a Tamil fan edit and an Assamese post-match analysis.

For FIFA, this development is hugely significant. It should stop measuring success solely through broadcast revenue. India has already solved the awareness problem; now it needs to solve the participation challenge. Over the next decade, it must build a genuine football identity. Can Instagram become the bridge between watching football, playing football, joining academies, following the Indian Super League and supporting Indian football?

Many brands looked at the late-night kick-off times and dismissed this World Cup as having limited commercial value. That may have been true for traditional television ratings, but Instagram changes the economics. The conversation continues long after the final whistle, and the first two hours of the day are when engagement is at its highest. Brands that become part of fan culture will be the ones that benefit most.

As for Instagram itself, it should invest in football as India’s second sporting language. That means dedicated World Cup creator programmes, stronger regional creator support, fan prediction tools, AI-powered dubbing across languages and vibrant club communities. The next generation will discover football not through television broadcasts, but through content creators.

For years, broadcasters believed they were the driving force behind fandom. What Instagram’s numbers reveal is that the equation has changed. Social media has been steadily building football fandom in India. Imagine what will happen the day the nation finally qualifies for the World Cup. The commercial and cultural opportunities unlocked for every stakeholder would be immense. afsport.lat

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Seattle [US], June 27 (ANI): Iranian veterans Alireza Jahanbakhsh and Ehsan Hajsafi have etched their names into FIFA World Cup history after becoming the first players from the country to feature in four editions of the tournament.

The duo achieved the milestone during Iran’s Group G clash against Egypt in the FIFA World Cup 2026 on Friday (local time), marking a rare feat of longevity at the highest level of international football.

Both Jahanbakhsh and Hajsafi have now represented Iran at the 2014, 2018, 2022, and 2026 editions of the World Cup, underlining their sustained presence in the national setup across more than a decade.

https://x.com/FIFAcom/status/2070673468115538162?s=20

Ahead of the Egypt clash, Iran goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand has described Egypt as a strong side ahead of their crucial Group G clash in the ongoing FIFA World Cup 2026, saying that all 26 players in the squad are of the same calibre as star forward Mohamed Salah.

“Egypt has great players. All 26 players that this team brought to the World Cup are like a Mohamed Salah," Beiranvand said, according to Iran Media SNN.

“We only think about the people of Iran and their happiness," he added. The Iranians have shown resilience in Group G of the FIFA World Cup 2026, remaining unbeaten after drawing 2-2 with New Zealand and playing out a goalless stalemate against Belgium.

Iran squad for FIFA World Cup 2026:

Goalkeepers: Alireza Beiranvand, Hossein Hosseini and Payam Niazmand.

Defenders: Daniyal Eiri, Ehsan Hajsafi, Saleh Hardani, Hossein Kanaani, Shoja Khalilzadeh, Milad Mohammadi, Ali Nemati and Ramin Rezaeian.

Midfielders: Rouzbeh Cheshmi, Saeid Ezatolahi, Mehdi Ghayedi, Saman Ghoddos, Mohammad Ghorbani, Alireza Jahanbakhsh, Mohammad Mohebi, Amir Mohammad Razzaghinia, Mehdi Torabi and Aria Yousefi.

Forwards: Ali Alipour, Dennis Dargahi, Amirhossein Hosseinzadeh, Shahriyar Moghanlou and Mehdi Taremi. (ANI)

(This content is sourced from a syndicated feed and is published as received. The Tribune assumes no responsibility or liability for its accuracy, completeness, or content.)

India ‘A’ struck early twice after skipper Dhruv Jurel’s unbeaten 141 propelled the visitors to a massive 452-6 declared in the first innings of their first unofficial Test on Friday.

Anshul Kamboj (1-22) and Yash Thakur (1-20) claimed a wicket each to rock Sri Lanka ‘A’ early, who reached 113-2 when the stumps were drawn. The hosts are trailing by another 339 runs in the first essay.

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Rajasthan Royals (RR) head coach Kumar Sangakkara revealed an interesting anecdote involving Vaibhav Sooryavanshi during IPL 2026 and heaped praise on his confidence. The 15-year-old, who recently concluded his second season with the one-time champions, finished as the leading run-getter of the tournament with 776 runs to his name. Ahead of Sooryavanshi’s potential T20I debut, Sangakkara spilt the beans on an instance when Vaibhav had promised to hit 13 sixes in a game and almost delivered on it with utmost ease.

How Sooryavanshi impressed Sangakkara, RR teammates

Speaking to Sky Cricket, Sangakkara revealed that just before RR’s run-chase against LSG commenced in the IPL 2026 fixture on May 19, Sooryavanshi had winked at him and had assured him not to worry. The 15-year-old then went to his teammates Lhuan-dre Pretorius and Donovan Ferreira and told them that he planned on hitting 13 sixes and that they would have to do the rest of the job. Sooryavanshi nearly fulfilled his promise as he hammered 10 sixes, leaving Pretorius, Ferreira and Sangakkara in awe.

“This year, we were playing Lucknow Super Giants. We had to chase 220 to win the game and stay in the competition. We fielded first. Vaibhav is walking out, he winks at me and says, ‘Coach, don’t worry. It’s done.’ He walks into the dressing room and tells Donovan Ferreira & Lhuan-dre Pretorius, ‘Listen, the two of you. I am going to hit 13 sixes now, once I do that, you just do the rest.’ He hit 10. When he was on five sixes, Donovan and Pretorius thought, ‘What is he talking about?’ Then they suddenly sat down and said, ‘We better start counting this down because this kid is actually going to do it.’ So, that is the level of confidence he has,” Sangakkara said.

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi scored 93 off 38 balls in that game against LSG, striking 7 fours and 10 sixes at a strike rate of 244.74. His blitzkrieg at the top of the order allowed RR to chase down the 221-run target with ease in 19.1 overs. The 15-year-old was named the Player of the Match.

Sooryavanshi finished IPL 2026 with 776 runs to his name at a strike rate of 237.30, making him not just the winner of the Orange Cap but also awards for hitting the most sixes, the most valuable player, the emerging player of the season, and the Super Striker of IPL 2026.

The post When Vaibhav Sooryavanshi vowed to hit 13 sixes vs LSG, smashed 10 & left RR coach baffled appeared first on Inside Sport India.

India vs Ireland 2026 1st T20: Team India are the reigning world champions in T20I cricket having completed back-to-back title wins in the T20 World Cup 2026. Indians have not failed to win a bilateral T20I series since 2024 – having on 12 of them in a row. But for the first time since December 2023, they will not be able to win a T20I series and that too against minnows Ireland.

The Indian team succumbed to a humiliating 34-run loss in the first T20I of the two-match series against Ireland at the Civil Service Club grounds in Belfast – their first-ever loss to Ireland in any format of the game. As a result, the best that the visitors can home for is to level the series at 1-1 in the second game on Sunday. The last time that the T20 World Cup champions failed to win a T20I series was in December 2023 when they drew the series in South Africa 1-1.

Shreyas Iyer, who was leading India for the first time in T20I cricket after replacing Suryakumar Yadav, has set a humiliating record by losing his first game in charge. Iyer is now only the 4th Indian captain ever after Virat Kohli (vs England in Kanpur, 2017), Rishabh Pant (vs South Africa in Delhi, 2022) and Shubman Gill (vs Zimbabwe in Harare, 2024) to lose his first game in charge as a skipper.

For everyone who was there.

For everyone watching at home.

Enjoy these scenes! #BackingGreen | #IREvIND | #FailteSolar pic.twitter.com/MSnIdhqWAP

— Cricket Ireland (@cricketireland) June 26, 2026

Ireland are the 11th team to have defeated India in T20Is while Indians are the 8th full-member nation that the Irish have managed to defeat in the format and only wins over Australia, New Zealand and Sri Lanka are left.

“I think initially, the bowlers were bowling well. They got lateral movement, and they got a couple of wickets as well. So we got a tremendous start, but in between, we lost execution,” India captain Shreyas Iyer said at the post-match presentation.

The Indian captain felt that his side allowed the home team to score 10-15 runs more than the par score on the surface. “We made them hit straight down the ground, where we know that the dimensions are pretty small. I thought 140 would have been an amazing score considering the start that we got to chase.

“But nonetheless, it’s a great experience over here. We got to play in these conditions, got a fair idea about the wicket, and yeah, great start as a captain,” said Iyer.

Indians will now face Ireland in the second and final T20I match at the Civil Services Club ground in Belfast on Sunday.