Home of football statistics and historyWhen it comes to assessing the established continental pecking order in professional football worldwide, Asia is undoubtedly considered to be a backwater.
Japan, China and South Korea have the top leagues in the region, but they are a long way short of competitions such as the English Premier League in terms of quality.
Other Asian countries have attempted to jump on the football bandwagon in recent years, with the launch of the Indian Super League (ISL) one of the most noteworthy examples.
You would be hard-pushed to argue the move has delivered the desired results as cricket continues to dominate most of the sporting headlines in India.
That point is perfectly highlighted by the Indian Premier League (IPL), which generates massive interest among cricket fans across the world.
Every IPL match also sparks a flurry of activity on online betting platforms, with punters worldwide eager to wager on their favourite teams and players.
By contrast, India’s top football betting site attracts plenty of on ISL matches with home-based bettors, but garners very little activity from punters overseas.
Aside from the obvious difficulties of competing with cricket for airtime, the lack of quality on show in the ISL makes it unappealing to wider audiences.
As evidenced by the rapid growth of the Saudi Pro League (SPL), acquiring top overseas talents is generally the key to growth in traditional footballing backwaters.
The inaugural season of the ISL followed that methodology, with Alessandro Del Piero, Robert Pires, Freddie Ljungberg and David Trezeguet among the top names who played there.
However, their involvement failed to spark a football boom in India and the ISL has largely stumbled aimlessly along since that first campaign.
A quick look at the line-up for the current season paints a worrying picture, with the overseas contingent in the league comprising some hugely underwhelming names.
At the top of the list is Chennaiyin manager Owen Coyle, whose reputation was damaged beyond repair following a disastrous spell in charge of Blackburn Rovers.
Coyle is now unemployable in English football, yet is ranked as one of the ‘top names’ in a competition which desperately lacks superstar quality.
The current transfer market values for the ISL also fail to inspire much enthusiasm, with just one player rated above the €1 million mark.
That dubious accolade goes to Jason Cummings, a journeyman professional whose best years were with Hibernian in the Scottish Championship.
His presence in India highlights the gulf between the ISL and other Asian leagues, some of which have been able to attract star names from the top European leagues.
For example, Oscar’s big-money move from Chelsea to the Chinese Super League in 2017 was the type of transfer the ISL can only dream about.
In reality, the likelihood of the ISL becoming the next hot retirement destination for football superstars looks fairly slim.
The vast wealth in Saudi Arabia should ensure that the SPL is at the forefront of the race to mop up the best veteran talents from overseas over the next few years.
However, if the ISL can keep building in a sustainable manner, there is no reason why it cannot start to close the gap on some of its Asian counterparts.
Investment in coaches with a better reputation than Coyle would be a good place to start, while a stronger focus on developing youth players is also essential.
Football is unlikely to knock cricket off its perch in India, but it does have the potential to climb to greater heights than its current level.
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