Is Planet’s Biggest International Sports Event Missing the Biggest International Rivalry?

 

2022 was another sensational year of football. Whether it was Cristiano Ronaldo's exit from Manchester United or Real Madrid winning its 14th UEFA Champions League, it kept football fanatics attached to their favourite teams throughout the year, especially in the last two months when 32 national teams across the globe landed in Qatar in the hope of being crowned world champions.

Eventually, it was Lionel Messi’s Argentina that lifted the cup in front of almost 89,000 people at the Lusail Stadium in Qatar, and it was thought that the biggest sporting match of the year was concluded. But almost a month before the start of the FIFA worldcup, Pakistan and India faced off against each other in the cricket’s T20 worldcup group stage at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Australia, which was attended by more than 90,000 people, competing with the popularity of an occasion like a FIFA worldcup final.

Pakistan and India are known to be two neighbouring countries with a lot of conflicts since they got independence back in 1947, which is why whenever they come across each other, regardless of the sport’s popularity, it gains people’s attention and becomes a money-making tool for the organizers. Unfortunately, these two nations haven’t been good enough in the world’s most popular sport to even qualify for any of the world cups. The nearest any of them actually came to participation was India back in 1950, where they were all set to participate in the event but withdrew due to FIFA’s ban on playing barefoot.

With their fierce rivalry witnessed at the stages of Hockey and Cricket world cups, Olympics and many other events, it is a question mark of whether the globe’s most popular sporting event, the FIFA worldcup is missing arguably the most popular international rivalry of Pakistan and India in the event.

With a combined population of around 1.6 billion people, it is evident that if these countries ever come across each other in the event, it will create history and records of viewership that FIFA might not have experienced before. The last time the two nations actually met in a football match was back in 2018 in the SAFF Championship semifinal, where India easily defeated Pakistan 3-1. Despite a one-sided match, it had a considerate viewership and was the most hyped match of the 7-Nation tournament.

The other popular international rivalries such as United States and China, Iran and Saudi Arabia, Israel and Palestine, North and South Korea have been seen on pitch in many different sports, but have never gained that popularity as Pakistan and India. According to The Hindustan Times, the Asia Cup clash between the two nations on August 28^th had a cumulative reach of 133 million people, while according to beIN Sports, average viewership of the FIFA World Cup 2022 was 80.6 million people, proving how popular an India-Pakistan clash is and how huge it might be if the two nations ever meet in the FIFA World Cup in the near future.

Pakistan and India's clash at the FIFA World Cup can be an opportunity for multiple brands to get access to 1.6 billion people and have huge market gains from this match, especially the betting companies, which may experience an incredible surge in their business that they haven't experienced before. A match like this will cover almost every target group, not only in these two countries but in all of South Asia and their communities living in other countries. It can be a game changer for FIFA in generating revenues and providing a platform for both countries' federations, the AIFF (All India Football Federation) and the PFF (Pakistan Football Federation), as well as players to establish their personal brands. It will also play a part in improving both of these countries' images, which have been miscommunicated through different platforms over the ages. 

References:

https://www.beinsports.com/en/fifa-world-cup-qatar-2022/news/bein-sports-announces-record-breaking-cumulat/2011581

https://www.hindustantimes.com/cricket/india-vs-pakistan-asia-cup-2022-match-becomes-most-watched-t20i-outside-of-world-cup-101662712102866.html