India vs Panama is a friendly for the fans. But where are the fans?

Walk around the Sree Kanteerava Stadium a day before an India football match and you would normally expect to feel the buzz around. A few jerseys, supporters talking about the team, perhaps someone already making plans for the evening. On Thursday, though, there was hardly any.

India are back in Bengaluru for the first time since their 2023 SAFF Championship triumph at this very stadium. This time, they return with World Cup-bound Panama as the opposition, but the match has not quite caught fire in the city.

A lot of the conversation has instead been around the cost of attending and whether these high-profile friendlies are the right use of Indian football’s resources. Former India captain Bhaichung Bhutia’s call for a boycott of the Brazil friendly has only added to that debate, making the build-up about the wider state of the game as much as the football itself.

Outside Kanteerava, Girish was standing with his India jerseys. He is the only seller with a proper setup outside the stadium, and on the eve of an international, that should usually mean a steady stream of supporters stopping by for a shirt. On Thursday, there wasn’t much of one. There isn't much hype for the India vs Panama friendly so far. (Image: Debodinna Chakraborty/ India Today)

“Honestly, there has not been much hype around this match. I am selling India jerseys outside the stadium, but you don’t really feel that an India international is happening tomorrow. I am not even planning to go for the match. I am thinking of going straight to Thiruvananthapuram for the West Indies ODI series.”

He expects some people to come for the game, but his own decision tells you something about the mood. Even someone whose business depends on India supporters is not convinced there is enough excitement around the fixture.THE SUPPORTER WHO CAME FOR TRAINING

A little further away, there was a different version of the same story.

Johnathan Murray is a student at St Joseph’s College, a Bengaluru FC supporter and part of the North End Blues fan group. He wanted to see India, but instead of buying a match ticket, he slipped out of college to watch the team’s training session.

For him, that was still worth doing. He got to see the players he follows from close quarters, even if he would not be inside Kanteerava when India take on Panama.

“For Indian football fans like us, it is not possible to pay this much for matches. We are used to paying a maximum of Rs 300 for ISL games, so when the lower-end tickets itself cost Rs 850, it hurts. But what can we do? At least I came here to watch them train.” The entrance to the Sri Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru. (Image: Debodinna Chakraborty/ India Today)

The ticket structure has become a talking point among Bengaluru supporters, with standard categories listed from around Rs 849 through Rs 999, Rs 1,499, Rs 1,999 and higher-priced premium sections. The West Block, a familiar home for Bengaluru FC’s most vocal supporters, has also been priced considerably higher than what many fans are accustomed to paying for club matches.

Johnathan’s friends had wanted to come as well. They eventually decided against it after discussing the cost. Prices for the IND vs PAN friendly, especially the West Block is sky-high. (Image: Screengrab from X/@WestBlockBlues)

“Even my friends who really wanted to come have been sad about it. They were all talking about coming for the match, but now they are just trying to move on.”

That is probably the most interesting part of the story. There are fans who want to be around the national team, but there is a point at which that enthusiasm meets reality.

And the players themselves have been trying to get Bengaluru to turn up. Akash Mishra, who is part of the squad for this run of friendlies, urged fans to come out and back the team.

The replies were less about a lack of interest and more about the price.

The West Block Blues pointed to the Rs 2,999 ticket for their stand, while other supporters questioned paying around Rs 1,000 for a North Lower seat after charges. For fans used to paying far less to watch Bengaluru FC, the message was pretty clear. They want to be there, but the numbers are making that decision a lot harder. Fans are not happy with the ticket prices for the India vs Panama friendly. (Image: Screengrab from X/@menonkid) THE MATCH NEEDS TO BE SEEN

The AIFF has promoted the FIFA window on its social media platforms, but that naturally reaches people who are already looking for Indian football. Walking around Bengaluru, the match did not have much of a presence beyond the immediate stadium area. The first hoarding I came across was outside Kanteerava itself.

For a match involving a World Cup-bound side, there was an opportunity to make it much more difficult for the city to ignore. Not everyone follows the AIFF online. A student, a casual football fan or someone who mainly watches Bengaluru FC may need to encounter the match before deciding whether it is something they want to attend.

That part cannot be fixed once the teams walk onto the pitch. Promotion matters because an international fixture should feel like an event in the city hosting it, not something known only to the existing football audience. View of the stands from inside the Sri Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru. (Image: Debodinna Chakraborty/ India Today)

There is also a balance to be found here. Supporters are entitled to question the federation, the ticket pricing and the decision to host these friendlies. But Indian football is also going through a period where the national team needs people to remain interested, particularly when it gets an opportunity to play opposition of this level.

What can be decided on Friday is whether India make the occasion matter.THEN COMES THE FOOTBALL

They are ranked 44th in the world and featured at the 2026 World Cup. Brazil and Uruguay will follow in October, giving India three World Cup teams in the same FIFA window.

For Khalid Jamil’s side, that is a significant opportunity. India are ranked 138th and have never qualified for the men’s World Cup, so matches against teams that have already reached that level offer a fairly clear indication of the gap the team still has to bridge.

Gurpreet Singh Sandhu has been around long enough to know that the opposition should not change the basic approach.

“To be honest, every single game has been special because you get to play for your country, and that’s the most important thing. It doesn’t matter who we face. We all want to win the games that we play for our country, against anyone.”

Jamil, meanwhile, knows India cannot spend the entire evening defending.The big man, Anwar Ali has a big job on his shoulders over the next few days.Once a big-game player, always a big-game player, right? Indian football fans will be hoping so. @ITGDsports #IndiavsPanama #IndianFootball pic.twitter.com/EET9NYOals— Debodinna Chakraborty (@DeboDenoC) September 24, 2026

“We are playing a stronger team. At the same time, you cannot defend all the time. So there will be a mix of defending and attacking also. According to the situation, we will react.”

There is no shortage of things to argue about in Indian football. The federation can be questioned, supporters can disagree with the decisions being made and the pricing can be debated.

But Friday is eventually going to come down to a much simpler thing. India will walk out at Kanteerava for the first time since that 2023 SAFF Championship night, and Panama will be waiting.

For all the noise around the match, the players have 90 minutes to give Bengaluru something worth talking about.- Ends

An all-in-all geek for football who channels his inner Real Madrid supporter to keep his Manchester United hopes alive. A preferred blind smasher of the ball when it comes to cricket, courtesy to the singing lessons by Virender Sehwag.