AIFF President Kalyan Chaubey has revealed that the board is looking into the inclusion of PIO and OCI footballers into the Indian national team. He added that the current rules of the Government of India don’t allow dual citizenship, but being a member of the ruling party, Chaubey might be able to influence a change.
As a result, only players born in India have been selected for the national team, resulting in a slow but steady growth of the sport in the country. India is now ranked 102nd in the FIFA World Rankings, having recently made it within the top 100.
Indian football could have PIO and OCI players in the national team soon: AIFF
“We are looking to approach 24 PIO players who are playing across the world. But you know there is the issue of dual citizenship not being permitted in India. So, we have to see how this can be done within the framework of GoI’s rules,” Kalyan Chaubey said regarding the matter.
The Indian government’s previous argument against including foreign origin Indian players was to ensure the development of homegrown players first. And with the introduction of the ISL and the partnership with FIFA, they have been taking steps towards achieving that goal.
Although the inclusion of foreign origin Indian players might hinder that goal to an extent, one might also argue that such exposure in the national camp will only raise the overall level of the team.
It seems unlikely that the rule will change within the coming month, meaning India will field an all-homegrown squad at the upcoming 2024 Asian Cup in Qatar.
