Indian Football Team for Asian Games? IOA sends names, but it's not final yet
THE INDIAN OLYMPIC ASSOCIATION has forwarded the names of Indian football team squads (men's and women's) for participation in the upcoming Asian Games.
However, their participation in the event is still not fully confirmed because they central government may still withdraw the names of athletes and teams till 26th July.
The government's policy of choosing not to send players/teams who are not medal prospects resulted in the Indian football teams being not allowed to participate in Asian Games 2018. This time, too, a similar decision may be taken to disallow the Blue Tigers and Tigresses.
However, Indian football fans and experts view this policy as unfair to the sport, since high experiences in level competitions like this are required if India are to become a big name in Asian football again.
Football in Asian Games is an U-23 competition for men and senior competition for women. For both, it provides a rare opportunity to prepare for major competitions like Asian Cup, World Cup Qualifiers and Olympic Qualifiers by testing the squads against some of the best teams in the continent.
In the past, the AIFF has even offered to bear all costs for the teams, just to ensure that they get the chance to play. However, their plea was rejected in 2018.
To convince the government to allow the Indian teams to participate this time, Indian football fans ran the "#IndianFootballForAsianGames" campaign on social media. Even Igor Stimac, head coach of the men's team, spoke out on the issue.
A humble appeal and sincere request to Honourable Prime Minister Sri @narendramodi ji and Hon. Sports Minister @ianuragthakur, to kindly allow our football team to participate in the Asian games br>We will fight for our nation’s pride and the flag!
— Igor (@stimac_igor) July 17, 2023
Jai Hind!#IndianFootball pic.twitter.com/wxGMY4o5TN
We urge @kalyanchaubey to do what he is there for as President of @indianfootball - Negotiate. His political reach should NOW shine through in convincing the Union Sports Ministry. #IndianFootballteamForAsianGames
— Blue Pilgrims (@BluePilgrims) July 17, 2023
Refusing to participate in a tournament by policy is nothing but being governed by past inferiors.
— Harish Itagi (@HarishSItagi) July 17, 2023
No footballers should pay the price for a crime that they have nothing to do with.
The national team deserves to play at the continental level.#IndianFootballTeamForAsianGames
This is a call for our Prime Minister and Sports Minister to recognize the potential of our football team and grant them the opportunity to represent India in the Asian Games. Let's give our players the chance to shine on the international stage.#IndianFootballteamForAsianGames pic.twitter.com/4RjuhXID9u
— Ritama Roy Chowdhury (@RitamaRoyC) July 17, 2023
With AIFF President Kalyan Chaubey also holding the position of Joint Secretary at the IOA, there is hope that he will be able to convince the sports body and the Union Sports Ministry to allow the Indian teams to play in Asian Games. However, final word on that situation is still awaited.
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