Asian Games ranking jolt for football team, could be refused clearance | Football News – Times of India

AIFF to file appeal for exemption
NEW DELHI: Fresh off their high of the past two months where they won the Intercontinental Cup and the SAFF Championships, the Indian football team got a rude wake-up call when they discovered they would be ineligible for the Asian Games in Hangzhou from September 23 to October 8, 2023.
The Under-23 team managed by senior team coach Igor Stimac was expected to arrive for the Asian Games following the King’s Cup in Thailand in early September but could be now sitting out of the multi-sport event due to their poor ranking, if the Asian Games selection criteria guidelines by the Sports Ministry is anything to by.
“For team events, only those sports which have achieved a ranking upto 8th among participating countries of Asia in the last one year should be considered for participation for the Asian Games,” the July 10, 2023, Ministry guidelines sent to the Indian Olympic Association and the National Sports Federations, reads. This means both the Indian men’s and women’s football teams’ entries will be refused clearance as they are ranked 18th and 10th among participating nations respectively.
“The AIFF received the ministry guidelines, as did all other NSFs, two days ago asking where we were ranked in Asia in the past one year,” Shaji Prabhakaran, AIFF secretary general told TOI.
“As the government’s guidelines, India’s ranking doesn’t allow participation. We have to follow it, but we will still be filing for an exemption on Monday,” he added.
This is not the first time the Indian football team has hit a roadblock vis a vis Asian Games participation. They were declared ineligible for the previous edition in 2018 due to the same rankings criteria. Two-time gold winners (1951, 1962) and a bronze in 1970, the Indian football team usually faced difficulty over Asian Games clearance at as their continental standing fell steadily in the past three decades.
Meanwhile, the ministry guidelines also offered, “Where, in the opinion of the experts of specific sports disciplines, and that of the Sports Authority of India, participation of individuals and teams in relaxation of the above criteria is recommended with justifiable reasons, the same will be considered by the Ministry for appropriate decisions.”
Ministry sources also indicated there could still be hope. “The football teams eventually be cleared, their entries would be sent,” a ministry official said.
On Thursday, AIFF president Kalyan Chaubey, who is also IOA joint secretary and acting CEO, had met with Home Minister, Amit Shah to appraise him of developments in Indian football in the recent months. “Happy to inform that Govt of India … will continue to extend full support to Indian football,” had tweeted later.