# East Bengal’s Asian draw sparks three wishes for Indian football 2026-08-14T04:48:29+00:00 | Sports | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet East Bengal men's team fought back to draw 2-2 with Kuwait's Al Arabi SC in the AFC Champions League 2 qualifier on Wednesday, with 18,000 fans braving heavy rain. The result is a rare bright spot for Indian club football, which has struggled in Asian competitions. According to a KPMG report released by the sports minister, India has 300 million football followers, more than hockey and badminton combined, and the sport is growing at 25%. The article lists three wishes for the coming year: a full ISL season with better broadcast deals, a tribute to former India captain Mohammed Habib (who died on August 15, 2023) by naming the Golden Boot award after him, and a lesson from Sumit Rathi's career decline, the young defender played just 46 minutes in 2024-25 after being misused by Mohun Bagan. East Bengal's women's team also qualified for the Asian Women's Champions League preliminary stage. ## Coverage - hindustantimes.com Tags: AFC Champions League 2, East Bengal, Indian football, ISL, Mohammed Habib, Sumit Rathi Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/east-bengals-asian-draw-sparks-three-wishes-for-indian-football/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/east-bengals-asian-draw-sparks-three-wishes-for-indian-football/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes.