The Champion Code | Sunil Chhetri talks about the ISL limbo, 'age fraud' in Indian football and 2026 World Cup: 'We have 99 problems, but...'

Sunil Chhetri recently spoke about the difficult phase when uncertainty loomed over the start of the Indian Super League (ISL). The league's start was pushed back, leaving the situation uncertain for India's top-flight clubs. Chhetri also highlighted the challenges of age fraud in Indian football and shared his thoughts on the upcoming FIFA World Cup 2026.

Indian football has encountered a turbulent phase, with ISL at the centre of a major governance and financial dispute. The All India Football Federation's lack of clarity on the situation has left the clubs in peril, causing major instability.

Players fear contract expirations without renewal due to a financial standoff, and certain clubs had to halt their operations altogether as the deadlock continues.

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Chhetri on ISL drama: 'Everyone wants good. Let's be in the same team'

In an exclusive interaction with Firstpost's Rupha Ramani on the special podcast series The Champion Code, Chhetri acknowledged that the last year and a half was difficult and slowed Indian football's momentum but also stressed that these setbacks must not derail long‑term growth, since the destination is still far away.

"It was difficult. It was more difficult for me because I knew the story of every stakeholder. Players used to call me every day because there was uncertainty regarding salaries and the future. I could understand their trauma. But at the same time I was talking to people at the AIFF. I was in touch with some of the CEOs and the owners and also some fan groups. So I was talking to all the stakeholders, and everyone was struggling, and everyone was hurting. And somewhere everyone had small flaws as to why we have reached here. But as human beings, we always want to point fingers at others. So the lot of things that went wrong, I just hope in the coming years, all of us, we understand that for Indian football we have to keep our heads down and try to do the right things so this thing doesn't happen again. To modify its donor and try right things so that this thing doesn't happen.

"We were going in the right trajectory in terms of ISL, in terms of the national team, development and stuff. The last one and a half years wasn't great. I just hope that we all can learn from it so that it doesn't hamper our growth. Only because where we want to reach is a far, far way and a distant destination. And these things are not going to help us. Again, the silver lining is all of the people who are attached to it, involved in it, have the heart at the right place. Everyone wants Indian football to go places; we just have to come together, work on a few important ideas and be in sync. That is very important. Everyone wants good. Let's be in the same team," Chhetri said.

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Chhetri further delivered an uncomfortable truth, revealing that age fraud is a major problem in Indian football, and also pointed out a solution involving holistic effort and proper talent identification at the right age.

"One of the problems Indian football has is the age fraud. So if you identify the talent at the right age, then automatically you're killing the age fraud. But because there is chasing that I was good at 11 but she is already 13. She was good at 13, but she's already 15. Let's bring it back by just signing a few people. That's one of the problems. So I think if this is a holistic problem we can solve, where we can tap talent at the right age and for that we need a lot of research. We need a lot of work in sync. We need a lot of people coming together and helping this cause. I can tell you we can move mountains. The one sentence that I don't like people talking, especially foreigners, is that Indians do not have talent. Which is completely false, no matter what it is. We have 99 problems, but not having talent isn't one of them," the Indian football icon added.

Chhetri speaks on FIFA World Cup 2026

With the 2026 World Cup closing in, there has been significant anticipation and hype around the tournament due to some of its unique aspects. FIFA went beyond the traditional barriers to make the event grander, with 16 cities hosting matches across three countries this year.

Chhetri believes the upcoming football spectacle would "be the most interesting one for thousands of reasons," highlighting the number of participants this year and the possibilities of stars like Neymar, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi playing "for the last time."

When asked whether the conditions would play any role, the Indian football legend said elite-level players are so well prepared that conditions do not pose a significant challenge. He further noted that players can go non-stop, courtesy of the advanced sports science and recovery methods.

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"They will. One thing that works for everyone is that it's an equal playing field. So everyone knows it. And nowadays players, especially at that level, are machines. The players like Saka, Hakimi, they play 13 months in 12 months. I don't know how they do it. So I think all of them, with the sports science and with the recovery methods and with the knowledge, everyone is going to work on that.

Chhetri further added that the tournament would be competitive as top teams have been gearing up to be ready, and fans will rarely see any team struggle.

"And again, at the end, it's an equal playing field. Everyone knows what's going to be there. And everyone will be ready. You will hardly see and think that team had a disadvantage because of the conditions, because everyone knows it. Now the preparations are beyond crazy. Everyone works really hard in preparing as good as they can, especially the top teams in the world. So ya, it is going to be amazing," Chhetri added.

The FIFA World Cup 2026 takes place across the United States, Canada and Mexico, starting Friday, June 12, 2026.

Check out the entire interview here: