Bhaichung Bhutia urges India to follow Uzbekistan football's blueprint

India are yet to feature in the FIFA World Cup

Uzbekistan football team became the first Central Asian nation to qualify for the FIFA World Cup 2026 and will be up against some formidable names like Portugal, Colombia and DR Congo in the group stage games.

Uzbekistan and India were once within touching distance of each other in terms of football, but the Central Asian nation have jumped miles ahead in a very short period of time.

Recently, Indian football legend Bhaichung Bhutia spoke to TOI and urged Indian football to follow Uzbekistan’s model rather than looking towards Europe.

Interestingly, Bhutia himself was handed his international debut by the late Uzbek coach Rustam Akramov. Here, we take a look at what the legendary former captain had to say.

Just copying La Liga & Premier League isn’t helpful

The Indian legend Bhaichung Bhutia made his debut for India in 1995 against the Asian Games champions Uzbekistan in the Nehru Cup. India went on to win the match 1-0, this exactly shows how close India were to Uzbekistan in terms of football.

While speaking to TOI, Bhaichung Bhutia shed light on the clear difference between the Uzbekistan of the past and the Uzbekistan of today, highlighting the remarkable progress the nation has made in football over the years.

“We went on to win 1-0 against Uzbekistan and in the next six to ten games, we won more than 50% of the matches. Look at Uzbekistan now; they’ve changed, it’s a completely different team.”

Bhaichung Bhutia also believes that just copying La Liga or Premier League will not be of any help to Indian football. India should take examples from Uzbekistan and even Jordan going forward.

Bhutia stated, “We always try and look at European football models, but Uzbekistan can be a good model to follow. Look how they’ve made it to the World Cup, even Jordan. We have to understand their grassroots programmes, investments, league structure, player development. Just copying Premier League or La Liga doesn’t help. Uzbekistan and Jordan are realistic examples.”

India’s near miss in 2002

The former India international also reflected on one of the closest moments India came to reaching the final round of FIFA World Cup qualification while speaking to TOI.

Bhutia was part of the 2002 campaign, where the Blue Tigers just missed out by a single point, a setback that still remains a significant what if.

“We were very close to qualification (to the final round). I often wonder why FIFA didn’t have a 48-team World Cup and set aside eight spots for Asia during our time. That would have led to a completely different mindset. You would be more positive, full of enthusiasm, and fancy our chances. Just four qualifying spots was always going to be tough.”

The World Cup dream is still alive for India

Despite India’s struggles in the recent years, Bhaichung Bhutia believes the dream of qualifying for a FIFA World Cup is not impossible. The former India captain stressed that success will need patience, sustained grassroots development and a long-term vision rather than short term fixes.

“Even now, for India, it’s not impossible. We need long-term grassroots development (programme). Lot of grassroots events take place, but it’s just for the sake of it; 15 days, sometimes a month, that’s it. We need to have kids playing throughout the year. They need to be training and competing. I think Vision 2047 (strategic roadmap launched by AIFF) is kept inside the drawer,”

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