{
  "id": 10695649,
  "title": "Gurpreet Singh Sandhu responds to Ancelotti's ‘India has no football culture’ remark: ‘Everyone should listen’",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/29/gurpreet-singh-sandhu-responds-to-ancelottis-india-has-no-football",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-29T12:47:56.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Gulf News",
    "slug": "gulf-news",
    "url": "https://gulfnews.com/sport/football/gurpreet-singh-sandhu-responds-to-ancelottis-india-has-no-football-culture-remark-everyone-should-listen-1.500692128"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Carlo Ancelotti, the Brazil coach, recently commented on Indian football, stating that the country lacks a football culture. Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, the Indian captain, responded to Ancelotti's remarks, emphasizing that advice from such an accomplished football figure should be taken seriously. Gurpreet highlighted that building a football culture in India starts with getting the basics right, particularly in establishing a stable league structure and a consistent domestic football calendar.\n\nIndia has faced instability in recent years, with the Indian Super League (ISL) season being delayed and truncated due to commercial structure uncertainties. The second-tier campaign was also shortened, resulting in a lack of consistency that affects players, backroom staff, and academy personnel. Gurpreet believes that one of the first steps to improve Indian football is to establish a full-fledged league that runs for nine or ten months, similar to the global standard.\n\nIndia currently holds the 138th position in the FIFA rankings. The upcoming match against Brazil, a five-time world champion and the highest-ranked opposition India has faced since the FIFA World Ranking was introduced in 1992, presents an opportunity for India to test themselves against top-tier competition. Gurpreet ended his response to Ancelotti with a light-hearted comment, inviting the coach to share more tips after the match.",
  "summary": "Dubai: When Carlo Ancelotti speaks about football, Gurpreet Singh Sandhu believes people should listen. The Brazil coach recently made a strong observation about Indian football ahead of the historic clash between the two countries in Kolkata on October 3. “I think it's a problem of culture. India does not have a culture of football, but they are good in other sports. You have to work on this to…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}