Douglas Silva becomes latest to slam India's Brazil-Uruguay-Panama FIFA friendlies, advocates for 5-year grassroots push

After former India captain Bhaichung Bhutia, another yesteryear footballer, Douglas de Silva, became the latest voice to object to India's upcoming FIFA friendlies against Panama, Brazil and Uruguay. Ranked 138th in the world, the Indian team will play Panama on September 25, followed by matches against former world champions Brazil (October 3) and Uruguay (October 6) in the upcoming FIFA international window.

The gap between India and its opponents is huge. While Brazil are ranked fifth in the world, Panama and Uruguay are placed at 20th and 44th in the latest FIFA Rankings. All three teams competed in the recently concluded FIFA World Cup 2026 in the USA, Mexico and Canada.

According to Douglas Silva, the Brazilian who made his name in Indian football primarily at East Bengal before also playing for Mohun Bagan and Mohammedan Sporting Club, this is not the right time for the All India Football Federation (AIFF) to host teams like Brazil and Uruguay.

Instead, the money to be spent on bringing these high-profile teams could have been spent wisely on strengthening youth development, thus creating a pipeline for the next five years, remarked the 52-year-old. “It is not the right time for India to play all these countries,” Douglas Silva told Livemint.

“For Brazil, it is fine, because it's the start of their new project (next World Cup cycle), but for Indian football, it is not the right moment. Even the smaller countries (referring to a recent loss to Bangladesh), India couldn't beat them. What will they learn in one match? Suppose India lose to Brazil by a big margin, what will be the mentality of Indian defenders?" the Brazilian asked.

'Indian football needs foreign coaches'

The legendary East Bengal footballer stated that AIFF should bring in foreign coaches, with Indian coaches as assistants. It must be noted that most of India's success at the continental level, came under Bob Houghton and Stephen Constantine, both of whom hail from England.

Under Houghton (2006 to 2011), India won the 2008 AFC Challenge Cup, which also allowed the Blue Tigers to compete in the AFC Asian Cup for the first time in 27 years. Whereas, under Constantine, India qualified for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup and also achieved the best-ever FIFA ranking of 96 in 2017. Khalid Jamil is currently the head coach of Indian senior team.

“They (Indian football team) would go nowhere with Indian coaches. What is the experience of Indian coaches? They have never played abroad. They are good for India only, but for the national team, India needs coaches with more experience. In any category in Indian football, they should have one a foreign head coach and an Indian assistant coach to learn with them,” he stated.

A financial roadmap for next five years

Based on a TOI report, hosting Panama, Brazil and Uruguay would cost AIFF approximately ₹80-90 crore, something the Indian football's apex body denied in a social media post. Douglas Silva advised the same money could be spent on developing the youth for a period of five years by bringing in top-level foreign coaches across five categories.

“They should spend it on youth development for five years. I am not sure, but I heard that the amount they are spending is ₹70 to 100 crores. Let's take ₹70 crores, for example,” the East Bengal legend explained. “Suppose in each category - U-13, U-15, U-17, U-20 and the senior team - they hire one foreign coach," he continued. India currently have U-17, U-20, U-23 teams in age-group categories.

"Suppose they pay 20,000 to 30,000 dollars per month to each coach for five years; they will spend around ₹70 crores. Don't you think that in five years, they will not make any good players for the senior team? They never think about that,” added the former defensive midfielder, who was a part of the East Bengal squad that won the glorious ASEAN Cup and many league titles.

Time will tell how the Indian footballers will show up in Bengaluru (vs Panama) and Kolkata (vs Brazil and Uruguay) against the big nations, which they have described as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. For Douglas Silva, the Brazilian will be in the stands, especially in the game against the Selecao.