A Mumbai YouTuber booked an entire stand in the stadium, and urged fans to contact him for tickets.
It is sad if the Captain of the national football team has to make a video asking citizens to come to the stadium to watch the team play. However, honesty is the best policy, and Sunil Chhetri’s video seems to have done the trick–India has awakened and responded. A YouTuber bought out an entire stand and all the match tickets to see India vs Kenya.
The ongoing Intercontinental Cup in Mumbai has seen scant attendance. Let down by this apathy towards the sport, the skipper posted a video on social media, urging fans to attend the match in large numbers.
This is nothing but a small plea from me to you. Take out a little time and give me a listen. pic.twitter.com/fcOA3qPH8i
— Sunil Chhetri (@chetrisunil11) June 2, 2018
A very humble Chhetri beseechingly says it isn’t nice to criticise on the internet. He asks people to come to the stadium, and who knows, the team might change their perspective someday.
The 2-minute video post sees the captain ask the supporters of various European clubs, to come and watch the match. India has a large number of football supporters, who ardently follow big clubs and their games, yet do not follow the football in the country.
It is quite sad, that only a quarter of the stadium in Mumbai was full, on Saturday, even as Chhetri scored a hat-trick to help India beat Chinese Taipei 5-0 and cement their place at the top of the 4-team table.
Chhetri’s video was responded to, and cricketers like Virat Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar called out for support for the Indian football team, after which the video went viral.
Please take notice of my good friend and Indian football skipper @chetrisunil11‘s post and please make an effort. pic.twitter.com/DpvW6yDq1n
— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) June 2, 2018
C’mon India… Let’s fill in the stadiums and support our teams wherever and whenever they are playing. @chetrisunil11 @IndianFootball pic.twitter.com/xoHsTXEkYp
— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) June 3, 2018
YouTuber Nikunj Lotia, took to Twitter to announce that he had bought an entire stand for the Mumbai match. He asked fellow football fans to contact him for the tickets.
Perhaps, a golden moment was when the official handle of La Liga, backed the heartfelt message of the team captain.
Incidentally, Chhetri will be playing his 100th match for India’s senior national football team, and the only second person after Baichung Bhutia to achieve the said feat.
You may also like:- O Captain, My Captain: India’s Immense Love for Sunil Chhetri in 5 Heartfelt Tweets!
In cricket-crazy India, it is difficult for another sport to take precedence. However, this recent phenomenon should change the way sports fans in the country support their teams, no matter what.
Edited by:- Shruti Singhal.
Featured image credit: Be YouNick
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