I still remember the excitement of watching the UAE football team play, as a child. I couldn’t wait to put on my fake Emirati kit, arrange my nibbles and steady the antenna outside the balcony of our second floor apartment in a three-storey building. The national team of the…

Legend has it that India blew the chance to place itself on the global football map by withdrawing from the 1950 World Cup (then called the Jules Rimmet Cup) for its unsuccessful attempt at challenging FIFA’s ruling against barefoot players. While some suggest this to be the central…