India line up Brazil, Uruguay friendlies, but domestic football chaos continues

Against a backdrop of chaos in the domestic game, India’s national football team will at least have something to look forward to over the next couple of weeks – a trio of fixtures against World Cup winners and South American stars.

While the Indian Super League stumbles towards what increasingly feels like another false start, football chiefs in the country have reportedly splashed out US$9.44 million (HK$74 million) to play Brazil, Uruguay and Panama in the coming international window.

Initially pencilled in to be part of Fifa’s Asean Cup, which will see Hong Kong host the might of Brunei and Laos at Kai Tak Stadium this month, India withdrew so they could play Carlo Ancelotti’s side for the first time in their history.

Other fixtures against Panama and Uruguay have now been added to what the All India Football Federation (AIFF) called “an unprecedented run of international football” for fans in the country, one they no doubt hope will mask the continued failings in the club game.

After a disastrous 2025-26 season, which started five months late and involved just 13 games, this year’s ISL is scheduled to kick off on Friday, although even then, how many sides will take part, and in what format, remains to be seen.

Earlier this month, Tata Steel pulled its funding of Jamshedpur FC, saying it wanted to concentrate on the game at a grass-roots level, a response that may have been linked to the AIFF’s decision that clubs should hold the commercial rights to the ISL.