The All India Football Federation (AIFF) has the Indian Super League (ISL) clubs to release players who will be representing India at the upcoming Asian Games in Hangzhou, China. The Indian men’s football team hasn't been a part of the continental event for nine years, and the AIFF believes it is crucial that the players they have selected be allowed to participate.
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The Asian Games U-22 squad has six players from Bengaluru FC, three from Mumbai City FC, while FC Goa, Mohun Bagan, East Bengal, Odisha FC, and Kerala Blasters have two each. Punjab FC, Chennaiyin FC, and Hyderabad FC each have one player in the squad. The Indian Super League is all set to return for its 10th edition on September 21, with arch-rivals Bengaluru FC and Kerala Blasters facing off at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi. The Asian Games are scheduled to begin a day later, on September 23, in Hangzhou, China.
“We very much understand that this Asian Games is outside the FIFA window, and you are not obliged to release the players,” AIFF secretary general Shaji Prabhakaran wrote in a letter to the 10 ISL clubs.
He continued, “But we all have the responsibility towards the country to make India proud… As Indians, we are obliged to make sacrifices for the country, and, in this process, you have to take a decision by releasing the players, considering the National interest in mind.”
“We are hopeful that you will release these players in time for the full strength of team to be in Asian Games and stand with the country during the Asian Games,” Prabhakaran said.
The Indian men’s football team has been drawn in Group A alongside hosts China, Bangladesh, and Myanmar. India, 99th in the latest FIFA rankings, will be the second-best-ranked team in their group behind China (80th). The Indian men’s football team won gold medals at the New Delhi 1951 and Jakarta 1962 Asian Games while clinching a bronze at Bangkok 1970. The Hangzhou 2023 Games will be the 16th Asian Games appearance for the Indian men’s football team.
