Rishav Ray

Author। Book: A Game of Two Halves|
Indian Football 💙💙
Mohun Bagan 💚♥️
Man Utd 🇾🇪🇾🇪
@retro_manutd
@MBFT89

[Rishav Ray @RishavRay0]

I am delighted to share that my labour of love for the last 5 years has finally borne fruit. My dream project "A Game of Two Halves" a first of its kind book on Indian Club football has been published by Exceller Books Publishers.

(1/n)

[Rishav Ray @RishavRay0]

@Varun85471096 Even if 20 out of the 214 players show intent to sign for a season in foreign leagues, that will automatically pave the way for an increased player pool. The cycle if kept on repeating every year with increase in number will definitely increase the quality of players.

[Rishav Ray @RishavRay0]

@Probudhya13 Has the potential to be a season changing transfer for EB similar to Miguel

[Rishav Ray @RishavRay0]

@dannyolson13 @7negiashish Cost effective solutions have had minimal effect in Indian football till date

[Ashish Negi @7negiashish]

Khalid Jamil was appointed to take India to the AFC Asian Cup 2027 by grinding out results in the remaining qualifiers, and at the time, it felt like the right decision given AIFF's budget constraints and the immediate need for results. Khalid's coaching career has been built on getting results.

But he cannot be the long-term head coach when India's next competitive match is only in November 2027 and he is already using the Unity Cup as preparation for the SAFF Championship, while Jamaica, Zimbabwe and Nigeria, all of whom missed out on the FIFA World Cup 2026, are using the tournament to build for the future WC cycle. India now needs a project coach with international football experience, someone who has taken countries to major tournaments and can build towards the future, not just prepare for the SAFF Championship.

The national team setup also needs a complete overhaul. The goalkeeping coach, assistant coaches, doctor, physio, masseur, team manager, and the technical committee all need to be removed urgently.

[Rishav Ray @RishavRay0]

वक़्त भी ��सका
तख्त भी उसका

चैलेंजर्स से डिफेंडिंग चैंपियन ❤️❤️

E sala Nu cup Namdu! 🏆 👑

#RCB #IPL2026

[Shaji Prabhakaran @Shaji4Football]

The 4-year ritual is about to begin.

As the FIFA World Cup kicks off, Indian social media will flood with the exact same questions: "Why isn’t a country of 1.4 billion playing?" "What is missing?"

Influencers and arm chair critics who don't watch a minute of local football will suddenly become experts on our systemic flaws.

We are world champions at diagnosing the problem. But when the final whistle blows on July 19th (early morning July 20th IST), the show will pack up. The discourse will vanish, and football will disappear from prime-time in India as if it never existed.

If we only care about Indian football when the rest of the world is playing, we are part of the problem. Real change doesn't happen in a 1-month seasonal outcry; it happens in the unglamorous, everyday grind of building sustainable, inclusive grassroots systems.
#IndianFootball #FIFAWorldCup #WorldCup

[Rishav Ray @RishavRay0]

@IFTWC ১টা জিতেই এই অবস্থা 😏😏

[Chiranjit Ojha @ChiranjitOjha]

Everyone remembers the "come on India, let's football" marketing campaign that launched the Indian Super League in 2014. It aimed to introduce the sport to a football-illiterate populace.

In West Bengal, however, Star built up to the ISL with their CFL coverage and a very unique marketing campaign called 'Target 2026'

It featured ordinary people venting their frustration in public. But they were not venting about politics or economy. They were screaming about the declining state of #indianfootball, about us falling back while the world moved ahead.

They were ashamed that India was not playing at the World Cup. And they were angry that no one was doing anything meaningful to change that.

Each rant ended with an adamant declaration: we will play the World Cup in 2026.

Amid all the plastic glamour of the early ISL, this was a surprisingly poignant pitch: they were promising something every fan had dreamed of all their lives, but knew was beyond their reach.

Now, 2026 is here. The World Cup is happening. 48 countries are playing but once again we are nowhere close.

And when I look around the fanbase I still don't see the shame and frustration that the characters in the ad so brilliantly articulated.

It's the anger and shame I have felt since I was a kid, watching my first World Cup in 1994, innocently asking my father when was India's match only to be told we were not good enough to qualify.

We will never get out of this rut until we learn to see it as the cancer it is. Not playing in the World Cup should be unacceptable. Not making significant improvement to our current state should be grounds for dismissal of every AIFF bigwig.

But why isn't that the case? Where are the protests in the stadiums? Where are the videos, news stories, tweets, posts tearing apart all the excuses we keep hearing about our failure?

The curse of complacency has kept us hostage for half a century now. When will we realise this is not normal?

When will we shout and scream that we will not accept this crap any more?

[Rishav Ray @RishavRay0]

@canbesagnik @Probudhya13 Naah bhai..Canadian Dollar e..Lagbe?

[Rishav Ray @RishavRay0]

@IndianFootyBest @MohammedanSC Sorry state of affairs at the club

[Sarthak Mondal @drsarthakmondal]

With #GeniusSports bidding for 20 years of commercial rights of the @IndSuperLeague, we thought it was important to look back at what happened in the last eleven years.

Matchday revenue, arguably the most sustainable and fan-driven source, has shrunk, not grown.

The full analysis, including the Good Governance Index (GGI) and League Excellence Rating (LER), is now live and can be accessed using the QR code.

Co-authored with @SandynoneM and Ayush Ganapathy

@fni @Abhratwitting @KhelNow @7negiashish @90ndstoppage @venkatananth

#IndianFootball #MohunBagan #EastBengal #ISL #Football

[Rishav Ray @RishavRay0]

@TTchorz Thank you for reviving the lost footballing culture around our capital city. Thank you and @OfficialSCDelhi for carrying the mantle of the game in the state.

[Rishav Ray @RishavRay0]

@TTchorz I've never seen a gaffer explaining his tactical gameplay in social media in such a detailed and descriptive manner. Kudos to you sir for making the game so easier for us through your analysis. 🙌

[Rishav Ray @RishavRay0]

@MarcusMergulhao Time buying tactics by Kalyan & co.

[Rishav Ray @RishavRay0]

@Parashar_kalita Brother The storm has been raging for years now 😅😅

[Rishav Ray @RishavRay0]

@SayanMukherjee4 @FootballWalla @IndianFootball Why would you not renew the contract of such a brilliant coach who barely got any time for setting up the squad?
I doubt anyone with a better CV is ready to accept the job.

[Rishav Ray @RishavRay0]

@TTchorz Your boys showed a resilient display against JFC ❤️

[Rishav Ray @RishavRay0]

@_Aswathy_S You fail at your job miserably, reprimand it and expect it to be highlighted

[Rishav Ray @RishavRay0]

@MarcusMergulhao Rest in peace 🙏

[Ashish Negi @7negiashish]

Imagine your team is playing the biggest tournament in its recent history, which also acts as FIFA Women’s World Cup and Olympic qualifiers, and two days before the match the players are forced to write a letter like this.

Most likely, the blame will go to the vendor, but what about the AIFF leadership and employees responsible for this situation?

For not organising the IWL on time,
for arranging just three international friendlies,
and for mishandling exposure tours in the build-up to the AFC Women’s Asian Cup.

This is administrative failure, not just a vendor issue. #IndianFootball @KhelNow