AIFF slams IOA’s decision to not send football teams to Asian Games
Slamming Indian Olympic Association for not sending Indian football teams to the Asiad, All India Football Federation stated that IOA lacks vision and competence to understand the progress of Indian team. AIFF also stated that IOA is unable to distinguish specific needs of each sport in the country.
The AIFF on Sunday hit out at the Indian Olympic Association after it decided not to send Indian football teams to the 2018 Asian Games in August. According to a report by Indian Express, the decision was made as officials were of the opinion that the teams did not stand a chance to compete for medals.
The AIFF, which was planning to use the Asian Games as their preparation for the upcoming Asian Cup campaign early next year, stated the IOA had a ‘myopic view’. The Indian football’s governing body also pointed out that men’s team’s Fifa ranking had improved from 173 to 97 in the last three years, while the team also qualified for Asia’s premier football competition and of course India's successful hosting the Fifa Under-17 World Cup last year.
“It’s clear the IOA lacks the vision and competence to understand that football is a global sport played by 212 countries and that the top five teams in Asia play in the Fifa World Cup where the level of competition is far superior to the Asian Games,” the AIFF said in a press release as quoted by Scroll.
Despite football being classified as a priority sport by the sports ministry, the IOA officials insisted that a team cannot be sent if they had no medal prospects. According to Sports Ministry guidelines, only teams that have been ranked among the top-eight nations competing at the Asian Games would be considered for participation. India’s men’s team has been ranked 14th in Asia, while the women’s team stood at the 13th place.
The AIFF has also been reportedly planning to take the matter up with sports minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore.
“IOA’s stance and myopic view come in sharp contrast to the support of both the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports and Sports Authority of India, both of whom who have been hugely supportive of Indian football and recognized AIFF’s efforts in the last three years,” the release read.
“It is indeed a sad state of affairs for sport in India that the IOA is unable to distinguish the specific needs of each sport in the country. The IOA was never even bothered to even once discuss with the AIFF the strategy and plans for developing football in India,” the release added.