Things Indian Football needs to incorporate to be more popular
Indian youths are obsessed with football, be it playing the beautiful game or just watching their favorite teams play every weekend. But when it comes to Indian Football, it is more or less rocket science to them. They cannot be blamed as the level of football they watch is pretty high but to popularise Indian football there are a few simple things that can be changed.Here is a list of a few things that can be changed that might generate more interest among the millions of football fans in the country.
#1 Fan Interaction
Clubs need to be more involved in fan base expansion than just playing football on the field. While football would be the main reason to attract the fans to the matches, there are a lot of other things that the clubs can implement to increase viewership.
European football fans head to screenings to enjoy a game of football rather than sit at home and watch the game. The main reason for that is that it makes a great viewing and you get to enjoy the banter between the supporters. Clubs should promote chanting in the stadiums for the fans to enjoy themselves even if they don't have a goal to celebrate.
Clubs can also upload videos on their online pages to generate more interest such as crossbar challenges, penalty challenges etc. The last Manchester United penalty challenge had over 2 million views on youtube. This way fans still can stay in touch with what is happening around the club even when the clubs are not playing actual football. If the club leaves boards to make a mosaic in the stands the fans would feel more involved in the game.
Bengaluru FC are a prime example of how to get fans involved with the club. In their maiden season, the club randomly selected fans to have a kick about with the first team players at the club. The fans who have such an experience with the club will remain loyal to the club no matter what. That is what Indian football is in need of right now
The clubs could get the crowd more involved by announcing the goal scorers name on the PA system in the ground. An example of what can be done is shown below: