India’s Young Tigresses suffered quarter-final heartbreak against China PR in the AFC U17 Women’s Asian Cup 2026, missing out on a historic FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup qualification despite their best-ever tournament run.
India head coach Khalid Jamil and players were denied entry to Kochi’s Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium ahead of an AFC Asian Cup qualifier due to a payment dispute, forcing the pre-match press conference to be cancelled.
Widely regarded as one of the most elite youth competitions in world football, the MIC Cup features top academies from Europe and the Americas.
The trials will be held at the Dilkusha Football Ground, with participants required to report at 9:30 am.
Mumbai City FC is in the ISL and was being administered by CFG to since 2019, which also owns Manchester City, Melbourne City, and New York City, among others.
But once the excitement settled, Indian football was left facing reality again. The love for the game was never in doubt, but what remained missing was progress.
Messi, along with teammates Rodrigo de Paul and Luis Suárez, was also felicitated with a framed cricket bat and a Team India jersey.
Drawn in Group B alongside Inter Kashi, FC Goa and Jamshedpur FC, the Highlanders are set for their first-ever clash with the Varanasi-based side.
Indian football’s dismal run on the international stage continued as the men’s senior national team slumped to 136th in the latest FIFA World Rankings — their lowest position since November 2016.
A bench of Justices PS Narasimha and Joymalya Bagchi also directed the AIFF to issue tenders inviting bids for "open, competitive and transparent process for selection of its commercial partner to conduct the Indian Super League (ISL).
