A Shoeless Escapade: India’s 1950 World Cup Story
It’s anyone’s guess when South Asia, a region boasting 1.8 billion people, will churn out a football team capable of qualifying for a World Cup. Vision 2022 for Bangladesh is currently undergoing cataract removal after extending the deadline on the ambitious project of qualifying for the greatest show on earth.
India on the other hand came the closest from the region to qualify for the World Cup. Currently the All India Football Federation (AIFF) are taking calculated steps by investing heavily in grassroots football, with their short term target set on qualifying for the AFC Asian Cup and the World Cup in the long term. But the story of how India almost got to play amongst some of the biggest names in 1950, is marred with despair, regret, and the slightest tint of urban myth. During the 1948 Summer Olympics in London, a newly independent India made headlines for their valiant efforts against France. Albeit it was not the score itself, where they lost by a narrow margin of 2-1, but rather their lack of footwear that garnered some whimsical headlines. Most of the Indian squad were not accustomed to wearing boots. But upon experiencing a rained-on English pitch rather difficult to dwell on barefooted, they decided to don footwear only if the weather was unsuitable. Luckily the weather gods were kind during the match against France and 8 out of the 11 of the starting lineup opted to go without boots. Their feet protected from the impacts only by thick socks cut off at the ankles.
Indian footballers training at Richmond Park Olympic Camp in 1948.
The British media were full of praise after their gallant sportsmanship. Upon being asked why they prefer to play without boots, India’s captain Talimeren Ao quipped, "Well, you see, we play football in India, whereas you play BOOTBALL!". That soundbite landed them in headlines across the UK and the continent . AIFF decided to ride high on their newly built reputation and extended India’s tour. The team played some friendly matches across the UK, The Netherlands and Germany before returning home.
For the 1950’s World Cup, FIFA allocated a slot in for an Asian team, which was open to the Philippines, Burma, Indonesia and India. Taking the hefty expenses into account just to participate, everyone apart from India forfeited the coveted slot early on. Realizing the magnitude of the opportunity this slot represents for Asian teams, FIFA agreed to alleviate this pressure by contributing for the lionshare of the costs.
FIFA’s generous contribution stemmed from their desire to have teams representing every continent. Turkey decided to withdraw themselves as well due to the sky high participation expenses. Overall, they ended up playing with 14 teams in that World Cup, instead of 16 (Turkey withdrew and none from Asia).
Achieving an automatic spot in the FIFA World Cup is a luck bestowed upon very few even to this day, and India had it handed to them on a golden platter. Alas, India never made it to the World Cup despite a free pass.
Here’s where the story gets anecdotal. Despite footing the bills, India was told outright that they had to wear footwear to this competition. According to the urban myth, this was enough to deter India from participating. But in fact, they assumed as much, since not everyone would be accepting of such an anomaly. Let’s be honest, if that was the primary reasont; any Indian would be livid. Opting out of a tournament of such global influence over shoes seems like a churlish reason. But there’s more this story than just the boots
India’s official team at the 1948 Olympics
The official records on India’s Sports Illustrated magazine cite the reason to be “disagreements over team selection, and insufficient practice time”, as notified by the AIFF. However, as the layers of disagreements unravelled, it was later revealed that back then, the World Cup wasn’t considered that big of a deal in Asia. This also explains why all four Asian teams backed out of the competition without any reluctance or hesitation. Sailen Manna would’ve been the Indian captain back then, and he stated the following to Sports Illustrated, “We had no idea about the World Cup then. Had we been better informed, we would have taken the initiative ourselves. For us, the Olympics was everything. There was nothing bigger.”
The barefoot myth has been foretold by generations of South Asian football fans so it is a bit disappointing that the truth is less amusing than the legend. While the boots pack a better punch in entertainment value, it is but an urban myth. Yet, once can see the logic in why a newly independent country would prioritize the Olympics over the World Cup. The Olympics are more diverse, in variation of sports and national representation. It gave India a perfect platform to make a mark in global sports.
The 1948 Olympics was everything to India, mostly because it was their first international showcase for the football team post independence. Yet the tournament that would have casted them as legends, didn’t even warrant much interest sending their players halfway across the world, just 70 years ago. However, Asian football may be vying for a comeback soon, with increased focus on the sport throughout the continent. It might still be quite a long journey for a South Asian country to finally get a spot at the table amongst the giants, but the distance is starting to ever so slightly each passing decade.
