All India Football Federation (AIFF) president Praful Patel has said that his country must ensure the ‘right steps’ are taken as they target qualification for the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar.
Patel – who is also an AFC Vice President – said that qualifying in six years’ time would be the perfect opportunity to capitalise on the vast support for the national team during the first ever FIFA World Cup in the Middle East.
“We will aspire towards qualifying for the 2022 World Cup because of the support our national team is going to receive and will need to ensure that right steps are taken towards realising this objective,” said Patel.
“Indian football’s further growth will therefore be of direct long-term to Qatar football, including the successful hosting of the 2022 World Cup.”
Speaking on the sidelines of the India Football Forum 2016 in New Delhi, he said he was impressed by the passionate support shown by the Indian expatriate community of Doha to recent AFC Cup finalists Bengaluru FC.
He also that the game was a great example of how Qatar and India can work together to support the other’s growth on the global football stage.
“We believe that Qatar are our natural partners in the Asian football family and the AFC Cup final has illustrated this,” he continued.
“Qatar has identified its Indian community as an important stakeholder of the 2022 World Cup and more than 5,000 Indian expats were at the stadium to cheer Bengaluru FC’s historic feat proving they are emotional stakeholders in Indian football as well.
“Also, 500 people from Bengaluru travelled to Doha at their expense to cheer the club despite having only a few days to make travel arrangements.”
The Indian national team last won the Asian Games title in 1962, and were runners-up in the AFC Asian Cup two years later. But no side from the country has managed to reach an Asian final since then, until the club from the southern metropolis qualified for the final in Doha in front of nearly 6,000 spectators, most of them drawn from Qatar’s 700,000-strong Indian expatriate community.
The team captained by Sunil Chhetri went down 1-0 after a hard-fought battle against Iraq’s Al Quwa Al Jawiya.
Despite the defeat, Patel, who has held the top job at the AIFF since 2010 and has had a memorable stint at the helm, has plenty to be positive about.
In 2013 he oversaw the AIFF’s successful bid to win hosting rights for India’s first ever FIFA tournament – the Under-17 World Cup of 2017 – and he is now presiding over ongoing preparations towards its successful delivery.
His organisation recently launched an Under-17 World Cup legacy project, a grassroots initiative called Mission Eleven Million intended to make football the sport of choice for 11 million urban children by the time of the historic tournament and expand the reach of the initiative in the years following the landmark event.
Bengaluru’s historic feat of finishing as runner up in the AFC Cup and the fighting display of our Under-16 national team against traditional Asian powerhouses Saudi Arabia and UAE in September’s AFC Under-16 Championships in Goa have illustrated that Indian football has begun to find its feet again,” said Patel.
“The Under-17 World Cup of next year will be the defining moment of Indian football. We have had intense focus on the Under-16 and Under-17 age-groups and will ensure the national team spends the next few years training and playing together.”
Patel also said that the progress made and publicity gained since winning the rights to host FIFA for the first time, will help encourage and facilitate the continued development of the next generation of Indian footballers.
“They will give their best during the Under-17 World Cup next year and following the tournament we will bid for the FIFA Under-20 World Cup,” he continued. “We have told the FIFA Competitions Committee that we are keen to host the event at the earliest available opportunity in 2019, and this will further give a boost to our grassroots initiatives.
“Many of the current Under-16 boys will be a well-knit group and will be ready for national team duty in time for the 2022 World Cup qualifiers, which will start around the same time.”
Patel said the turnaround in the fortunes of Indian football can be attributed to the emphasis placed on youth scouting, and the investment flowing into sectors such as grassroots development, infrastructure building and refurbishment.
“There has been intense focus on these areas by the AIFF helped by the AFC. Corporates have started putting money into football over the last few years and this is starting to pay dividends,” he added.
“The prime example being the historic run of three-year-old club Bengaluru FC in the AFC Cup and the global appeal of the Indian Super League.
“Winning the Under-17 World Cup hosting rights has sparked the interest of the Indian government in the development of the sport.”
However, Patel said this is just the beginning of the journey for Indian football and called on his country’s natural partners to help in the growth of the game.  
“There is still some way forward for Indian football to complete the three-way jigsaw which will take it to its desired goal – player development, infrastructure growth and incremental investment.
“More needs to be done and we need all possible help, including financial, from all our natural partners including Qatar.” (SC.qa)