The All India Football Federation( AIFF) ‘s Technical Committee, led by Shyam Thapa, met on Friday to discuss about some important issues which have been doing the rounds since a long time.
After a lot of speculations and rumours regarding Players of Indian Origin(PIO) being allowed to play for India and the 3+1 rule of AFC, the Committee has given a recommendation.
Whispers in the Indian Football corridors had indicated some time back that a few clubs were hesitant about the decision of 3+1. AFC’s 3+1 rule states that out of the 11 players taking the field, 3 non-asian foreign nationals can play and one player from any AFC-affiliated country can play together. It was being said that AIFF and FSDL were looking to implement the rule in the 2020-21 season, but since some clubs had already signed 6 foreigners, it couldn’t materialize.
However, the technical committee has recommended to implement this rule in the 2021-22 season. The comes as a good step towards the development of Indian players, since more Indians will be able to get game-time.
The Committee decided to let the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports(MYAS), led by Kiren Rijiju, to take a decision about allowing PIOs to represent India. Further recommendations about the same would be given once a decision by MYAS is taken.