Soccer seduces cricket-crazy India

By Adam Mynott BBC India correspondent

A slow revolution is happening in Indian sport - children are turning to football.

Football is fast gaining a foothold amongst Indians

Twelve-year-old Raagav, who has joined a soccer training academy at Gurgaon on the outskirts of the capital Delhi, is one of thousands, maybe millions of young Indians who want to play the game and even prefer it now to cricket.

"I like cricket, but football is better," he says. "I want to be a professional and I want to play for Manchester United."

Every street corner in every village and town in India still resounds to the shouts of young boys playing India's favourite game, cricket.

A bare patch of land, a few bricks piled on top of each other as a wicket, a bat and a ball are all that is needed.

But now football is starting to lure some away.

"There's a real sea change," says Bill Adams, a British football coach who runs one of dozens of new academies which are springing up all over India.

"At schools now, kids under 12 prefer to kick a football around rather than play cricket."

Cup hopes

Indian football is largely confined to two geographic areas: the eastern state of West Bengal, centred on the city of Calcutta, and Goa on the Arabian Sea coast.

Success at the national level is fine, but in the long term it needs better marketing and better training from junior level right the way up the game Baichung Bhutia

India launched its World Cup 2006 campaign against Singapore in the Nehru Stadium in Goa.

India are ranked 138th in the world table of football nations. Singapore are 107th.

Through a penalty mid-way in the second half, India won.

Another positive sign, although the Indian coach Stephen Constantine says the team still has a long way to go.

India's captain and star, Baichung Bhutia, says the key to future success is more support at grass roots level.

"Success at the national level is fine", he says, "but [in the] long term it needs better marketing and better training from junior level right the way up the game".

India's next match in the World Cup group is in Cochin in Kerala at the end of March against Oman.

English deal

Indian and Singaporean teams line up for World Cup glory

Baichung Bhutia is the first Indian footballer to sign with a European club; he spent three years with Bury Football Club in the English Third Division.

He says he expects more young Indian footballers to be targeted by foreign clubs.

Leicester City from the English Premiership has just signed a deal with Bhutia's team East Bengal, to tap into a potential player market.

Bill Adams says there is no doubt the talent is here.

"It will take a while to come on stream," he says, "but there are so many young Indians wanting to play that, with the right application, some will definitely make it."

That may not happen in time for World Cup 2006 but watch India closely in 2010 and 2014.