Football
Debayan Sen 8y

In-form India won't play any internationals till Feb 2017

If you found yourself pumping your fists and cheering on for the Indian team as they beat Puerto Rico 4-1 at the Andheri Sports Complex on Saturday, you should cherish the memories of the night that international football returned to Mumbai after 61 years. The next time you get to see the national team play could be as late as February 2017.

Having won their last four successive matches in international football, scoring 14 goals in them and conceding just two, India are not slated to play any more international matches, despite there being two further nine-day windows from FIFA for playing internationals in October and November.

Incidentally, the August-September window, wherein India hosted Puerto Rico, is also open till Tuesday night. Argentina, the top-ranked team in the world will be playing the first of their remaining five international matches -- all 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification games -- away to Venezuela. Closer home, Bangladesh will be hosting Bhutan in a 2019 AFC Asian Cup qualification playoff match on Tuesday.

The two remaining FIFA windows for international matches, between October 3-11 and then between November 7-15, are bang in the middle of the league stages of the Indian Super League (ISL). In fact, there are only three days among the 18 earmarked which don't have an ISL game slotted for them.

However, All India Football Federation (AIFF) General Secretary Kushal Das said not slotting any international matches was a deliberate move and had nothing to do with ISL dates.

"The decision to select Puerto Rico as an opposition and to ensure that only this match would count as a FIFA friendly was a strategic one," Das said. "The way the FIFA rankings work, we wanted to optimise the Puerto Rico friendly, so that we have the maximum points possible before the AFC Asian Cup qualification draw is made next year."

Das explained further that this was the reason AIFF chose not to opt for official FIFA status for their friendly against Bhutan in August. Though the match between the full-strength teams of 152nd-ranked India and Bhutan -- ranked 40 places behind them -- was played on a date not originally designated for internationals by FIFA, they could still have informed the world's governing body in advance with the agreement of their opposition to grant official status to it. However, every match played is given points based on factors such as the ranking of the opposition, the importance of the game being played, and at the expense of the oldest international fixture it replaces.

India are hoping that their 4-1 win over Puerto Rico will improve their ranking sufficiently to be placed in the second pot when the draw for the Asian Cup qualification is announced. India will be one of 24 teams competing for the 12 remaining slots for the 2019 edition of the continental tournament, which will be hosted by United Arab Emirates (UAE). The field already comprises six teams that played the finals in 2015 when Australia hosted and won the quadrennial event.

Former national coach Sukhwinder Singh told ESPN that the decision to not have any international matches might not work well in the long run. "Working for the betterment of Indian football is one thing, but you must understand that the national team must give positive results on a consistent basis for football to improve in India," said Singh. "I don't think if you ask (head coach) Stephen Constantine, he would ever refuse having a longer camp or more international matches to be played by his team. I am sure the AIFF has its compulsions with ISL, but you can't compromise on international football."

It's a sentiment echoed by former Indian captain and Arjuna Awardee Bruno Coutinho. "We must begin by making a dent in Asia. We must play more teams like Saudi Arabia, UAE, Malaysia and Thailand. This way, we can make out where we stand," said Coutinho, part of the Indian team when they recorded their highest-ever official FIFA ranking of 93 in 1996. "The more matches they play, and the more time they get to spend with Constantine, the better it will be for the team. Tomorrow, suppose India lose their first qualification match for the Asian Cup very badly, all blame will be directed at the coach."

Singh, whose first tenure as India coach preceded the first for Constantine back in 2001, empathised with the current incumbent when it comes to preparatory camps for international matches. "I think he has been very unlucky since he has taken charge, in that he has not really had a long time for preparation for any of the competitions," said Singh.

FIFA rules stipulate that a club must release a player a minimum of four days in preparation for a qualifying match, extendable to five should the match be held on a different continent. The period of preparation taken into account for friendlies on fixed dates is 48 hours, while the players must be made available to the national teams 14 days in advance for finals of competitions.

"The FIFA stipulation about releasing players applies to countries where the setup is a lot more professional than in India," said Singh. "When I was coach or even when Bob Houghton was coach (between 2006 and 2011), the preparatory camps used to be much longer."

^ Back to Top ^