India vs Puerto Rico – 3 Firsts

On Saturday evening, I attended an India vs. Puerto Rico FIFA friendly match at Andheri Sports Complex in Mumbai. More than the result, I was interested in 3 firsts which were associated with this match:

First #1 – this was the first India home match hosted in Mumbai in 61 years

First #2 – this was the first time a CONCACAF team travelled to India to play a match

First #3 – this was the first India match that I have attended where the entire stadium was full of energy, cheering for the Blue Tigers

India ended up winning the match 4-1 which will certainly help the morale of the entire Federation as well as the country’s FIFA ranking.

These types of experiences give me great hope that with the right infrastructure, domestic talent and league structuring in place, football in this country will quickly rise to new heights.



Bollywood star Abhishek Bachan attended the match


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