How Minerva Academy’s U15 boys’ team is celebrated on the internet now is very telling of the state of football in India  | Photo Credit: R.M. NUNES

A group of boys from Punjab quietly made history on a football field in Spain last week. Mohali’s Minerva Academy U15 boys’ team was practically unknown before their glorious 6-0 win against Liverpool U15s in the famed Mediterranean International Cup in Spain on April 3. Now, they are all over the internet. For anybody who is not sufficiently impressed by the scoreline alone, here’s the backstory.

The MIC Cup is where footballing giants like Barcelona, Real Madrid, Manchester United and Liverpool send their players to test themselves. It’s a tournament that has seen the likes of Messi and Neymar come up. And Minerva almost missed out on their match.

Two weeks before the game, the players’ visas were still stuck in processing, and the air fares had skyrocketed due to the Iran war. With no big corporate cushion or federation backing, the club scrambled for money and support. Their charismatic coach and owner, Ranjit Bajaj, launched a crowdfunding campaign. And India’s football fans did not disappoint.

Enough money was raised and the Spanish embassy stepped in to help with the visas.

How the team is celebrated on the internet now is very telling of the state of football in India. We wait for something miraculous to happen to take credit or get behind. A victory is always only as big as the odds against which it is achieved. And Minerva won big against stupendous odds. But the fact that these boys and their coach had to shoulder all the weight of making the match happen, and winning it, should get us thinking.

As much as we love the underdog in sport, India’s footballing legacy shouldn’t be one of teams barely making it to matches because they couldn’t afford the ticket fare. The youngsters shouldn’t be bogged down by money concerns as they play the beautiful game. They must play in big fields like they belong.

Published on April 13, 2026