The Indian Football team is making good progress under the captaincy of Sunil Chhetri. However, it looks like they are going to miss the Asian Games for the second successive edition. Still, there is a lot that needs to be confirmed. To qualify for the Asian Games, the Indian Football team needs to be eligible under the criteria of the Sports Ministry. That is that they should be in the top 8 sides of the continent. Due to this reason, they are not eligible to play for the Asian Games.
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Letter sent to the IOA
A letter was sent by the National Sports Federation (NSF) to the Indian Olympic Association mentioning that only those teams should qualify. And the eligibility criteria meant that the team was able to reach the top 8 ranking in the last year.
Present Indian Football teams ranking
Unfortunately, India is far away from the qualifying ranking. The current continental ranking of the Indian Football team is 18th, and they need to be in the top 8, among all the countries of the Asian Football Confederation.
Plans of the All India Football Federation
AIFF has made the plans that they are going to raise the appeal to the Sports Ministry, to reconsider their decision. They have mentioned that this is certainly the decision that is taken by the Government, however, they are going to appeal.
It is certainly going to be very essential for the Indian Football team to qualify for the Asian Games. Performing well in this tournament is certainly going to be important for the future of this game in India.