Govt stance on players of Indian origin a positive statement of intent, a ray of hope for Indian football: AIFF

New Indian Express

21 hours ago

NEW DELHI: All India Football Federation (AIFF) President Kalyan Chaubey finds merit in government's stance to encourage players of Indian origin living abroad to play for the country, saying it was "a ray of hope" for bettering national team's performance but he also underscored the difficulties in implementing the policy.
The new Khelo Bharat Niti (National Sports Policy), which got Cabinet approval on July 1, signalled a departure from the government's earlier stand that only Indian passport holders can represent the country.
"When it comes to the performance of the national team, one of the areas of the policy is something we have worked on actively -- the access to India's diaspora talent and I am happy that the policy included reference to the matter," Chaubey said a statement.
"This is a positive statement of intent and the AIFF will continue to work with FIFA and the government to do all things possible to strengthen the national team.
"For some years, there has been a clamour for the inclusion of players with OCI cards in the national team. We've seen countries like Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Hongkong, Singapore, the Middle Eastern Nations, and those in Europe take advantage of Naturalised Players with dual citizenship to strengthen their teams."
The ban on Overseas Citizens of India (OCI) card holders from representing the country in 2008 prevented many players from contributing to India's growth in several sports.
However, the 20-page Khelo Bharat Niti document stated that sports can serve as a powerful bridge between the Indian diaspora and the country, fostering emotional, cultural and social connections.
"To strengthen this bond, dedicated sporting events and leagues can be organized specifically for and among the Indian diaspora," it said.
"Wherever feasible, promising and prominent Indian-origin athletes living abroad may be encouraged to come back and play for India at the international level."
Chaubey, though, hinted at possible obstacles in taking advantage of the policy.
"Some clarifications in the Indian context might be helpful at this stage. As per the FIFA Statutes a player must hold a passport of a nation he or she wishes to represent and must produce it on match day," he said.
"While an OCI card grants certain social and economic rights to an individual, it is not equivalent to an Indian passport. Given that our laws do not provide for dual citizenship, it is up to us strategies how we may capitalise on the opportunity to access the diaspora talent and integrate them into the national teams as per the FIFA regulations as well as Indian citizenship law.
"The policy direction provides a ray of hope and we are intent on exploring it to its logical conclusion," he added.