India football ‘closer than ever’ to overseas players representing the nation

Dubai: A major development for Indian football is on the horizon, with the country’s football authorities increasingly confident that players of Indian heritage based in Europe could soon be eligible to represent the national team.

Current rules bar Indian-heritage footballers based overseas from representing the national team unless they give up their foreign passport.

The rules have so far denied Indian footballers living abroad the chance to earn international caps and help the country climb back into the FIFA top 100.

However, one senior official told Sky Sports News he is “convinced” the way will soon be cleared for eligible overseas-based players to represent India.

Former Mumbai City FC chief operating officer Arunava Chaudhuri said: "We are closer than we've ever been to seeing Overseas Citizens of India representing the Blue Tigers.

"Diaspora footballers from Europe can take the Indian team to another level.

"We're now talking about something that potentially extends beyond football, with the next Commonwealth Games coming to Ahmedabad, and their bid for the 2036 Olympic Games."

This would represent a huge step forward for Indian football, potentially giving the national team access to a much wider pool of talent from around the world.

India have never qualified for a FIFA World Cup, while players of Indian heritage from other nations have already graced the tournament.

Opening the door to eligible diaspora players could therefore provide the Blue Tigers with a significant boost as they look to finally reach football’s biggest stage.

Sarpreet Singh became the first-ever player of Indian origin to start a FIFA World Cup match in the most recent edition when he featured in New Zealand’s tournament opener against Iran on Tuesday.

Although incredible proud to represent New Zealand, in an exclusive interview with Gulf News, Singh explained how he is excited for more players of Indian heritage to thrive on football’s biggest stages.

“My story shows that it’s possible, it’s not been common so far, but I do believe in the future there is a lot of talent there and we’ll see more and more successful players from Indian heritage," said the 27-year-old.

As the world’s most populous country, India boasts a vast pool of potential footballing talent, that makes the prospect of allowing players of Indian heritage based in Europe to represent the Blue Tigers a potentially transformative development for the sport in the country.

With India desperate to take the next step on the international stage, opening the door to eligible overseas-based players will significantly strengthen their talent pool and boost their hopes of finally qualifying for football’s biggest tournament.