AIFF President Kalyan Chaubey.
Credit: PTI Photo
New Delhi: All India Football Federation (AIFF) President Kalyan Chaubey on Sunday sought to attribute the national men's team's slide in the FIFA chart to a "complex and fluctuating" nature of the ranking system but expressed hope for a turnaround with wins over teams placed higher in the list.
The Indian team slumped to its lowest ranking in nine years as it dropped six places to 133rd in the FIFA chart issued on July 10.
"FIFA ranking is based on historical performance of a national team in the international matches played in the preceding years. It is determined using the Elo Model. This method adds or subtracts points for matches to or from a team's existing total point," Chaubey said.
"As you understand the formula for calculating this ranking, you will realise it fluctuates year on year. It depends on the number of matches the team plays and the ranking of the opponent. In 2023, we moved to 99 from 106 when I took charge, and now in 2025, from 99 we have gone down to 133," he added.
After winning three tournaments in 2023, the Indian team moved inside top 100 at 99th place in July 2023 rankings, but from there the slide began. From 102nd in December 2023, the team dropped down to 117th after losing to Australia, Uzbekistan and Syria during the AFC Asian Cup in January 2024.
"The losses against very strong teams like Australia and Uzbekistan in the Asian Cup led to the national team losing a lot of places in the rankings," Chaubey said.
"Of course, the less-than-satisfactory performance in subsequent matches did not help the team but it was not that bad. We lost five matches out of 12, including one against formidable Qatar, after the Asian Cup. We won one and drew six.
"I am hoping that the team will rise again if it does well in the CAFA Nations Cup and the remaining Asian Cup qualifying round matches."
Chaubey, a former India goalkeeper, also mentioned India's beginning from the bottom of the chart when the FIFA first published it in December 1992.
"FIFA first published ranking in December 1992, and India was ranked 143rd. So from day one, India's FIFA ranking was 143 out of 211 member countries. Thereafter, India went down to 173 in 2015, and then rose to 97 in 2018.
"India's best ranking was 94 in February 1996, much before the NFL kicked off."
He said popularity of club football in the country does not reflect in the national team's FIFA rankings from the beginning to now. Between 1970-1995 and 1996-2013, Indian football has seen growth through private investment and increasing fan engagement in club tournaments like Durand Cup, Rovers Cup, IFA Shield, Stafford Cup or Bordoloi Trophy and later in NFL/I-League, he said.
"After 2014 (start of ISL) till now, we have seen more development and popularity in club football through ISL by the involvement of Reliance, TATA, JSW, Goenka, Emami, Star India etc. They played a pivotal role in shaping a new era.
"Over the last decade, Indian football has seen remarkable progress, including the upliftment of stadium infrastructure, improvement in club professionalism and quality of play, enhanced logistical support for players with better pay scales, and world-class production/broadcasting-making it one of the most viewed leagues in Asia.
"So, club football significantly grew in India and we can say today ISL is one of the most viewed leagues in Asia but that did not reflect in the national team. I would say most of the investment had gone to the club football than a national team's development."
Talking about the way forward, he said, "All the stakeholders of Indian football need better coordination to ensure that adequate investment is put in youth development so that India qualify in the U17 World Cup on merit.
"Other option is to get an amendment through Govt. policies so that the men's national team also gets naturalised players. The AIFF expresses gratitude to the Sports Ministry for providing an option in the proposed Sports Bill to include OCI/PIO players.
"However, this provision alone is not sufficient for the Indian football team, as per FIFA Statutes, to allow naturalised players to represent the national team. Nonetheless, we believe that with collective efforts, the AIFF will continue its discussions with the competent authority."