Sacred Grounds: People's Football in India ft. Sandeep Menon

This week's FootPol Podcast episode explores Indian football as a political and social phenomenon rather than simply a sport. Joining co-hosts Guy Burton and Francesco Belcastro in conversation is Sandeep Menon, author of Sacred Grounds: A Journey Through People’s Football in India. It traces how the game is embedded in India’s uneven political geography—from the northeastern states, where football intersects with histories of marginalisation and identity, to traditional centres like West Bengal and Goa. The discussion makes clear that, while football lacks the national political leverage of cricket, it plays a far more immediate role at the local level, where it reflects and shapes relationships between communities, regions and the state.

At the grassroots, football operates as a political ecosystem: local tournaments are tied to patronage networks, clubs and players become vehicles for influence and football spaces double as sites of civic and political life. These dynamics also reshape what “success” means—less about national leagues and more about community status, economic mobility and access to opportunity. At the same time, weak governance and institutional neglect continue to limit the sport’s development, particularly in the women’s game. The episode offers a concise but revealing account of how football in India functions where it matters most—locally, politically and socially rather than on the global stage.

In addition to Sacred Grounds, Sandeep is also the author of Out of the Blue: Bengaluru FC’s 10-Year Odyssey.