The All India Football Federation (AIFF) secretary M Satyanarayanan has defended India’s position in the latest FIFA World Rankings, arguing that several factors beyond on-field performances have contributed to the men’s national team’s slide to 136th in the world.

India currently sit 136th in FIFA’s rankings, having climbed five places from 142nd after their recent victory over Hong Kong. However, the Blue Tigers remain well below their historic high of 94th, achieved in February 1996.

Speaking about the reasons behind India’s decline in the rankings, Satyanarayanan pointed to missed opportunities in World Cup qualifying, the structure of FIFA’s ranking system, difficulties in arranging quality friendlies and the growing influence of overseas-born players in rival Asian nations.

“We should have at least gone to the next round”

Satyanarayanan acknowledged that India’s failure to progress further in the previous FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign played a major role in the team’s ranking decline.

“There are a lot of reasons. The first thing is, if you see in the last World Cup qualifiers, we should have at least gone to the next round,” he said.

India finished third in their second-round qualifying group behind Qatar and Kuwait, missing out on a place in the next phase of qualification. The result denied the team valuable ranking points that could have helped maintain or improve their position.

AIFF secretary says FIFA rankings do not always reflect performances

Satyanarayanan also questioned whether FIFA rankings always provide an accurate reflection of a team’s quality, highlighting how quickly positions can change after a single result.

“Two, the ranking sometimes doesn’t reflect how the team is performing. Because we won one match, we moved up by six spots after our last game.”

India’s rise from 142nd to 136th following the Hong Kong victory underlines how significant individual results can be in the FIFA rankings formula, particularly for teams outside the top 100.

Difficulty arranging top-level friendlies hurting India

Another challenge, according to Satyanarayanan, is securing matches against stronger opposition.

“Thirdly, in the FIFA friendlies, the better countries want to play against better countries because they get points.”

The ranking system incentivises higher-ranked nations to face similarly ranked opponents, often leaving teams lower down the standings with fewer opportunities to earn points against elite competition.

Overseas players helping rival Asian nations

Satyanarayanan also pointed to the increasing number of overseas-born players representing countries across Asia, suggesting that several of India’s regional rivals have benefited from tapping into their diaspora talent pools.

“The fourth part: some of the other countries in the region have started getting their overseas players. Like for example, there are one or two countries where some of those players have never stepped into that country, but they’re playing for that country.”

He cited Bangladesh’s recent youth-level success as an example.

“Other countries have actually benefitted. Take Bangladesh in the recent under-20 final. They had a couple of players who were born and raised in the US playing for them,” Satyanarayanan said.

The comments come amid ongoing discussions about the inclusion of Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) players in Indian football. This issue has gained prominence as several Asian nations strengthen their squads by adding foreign-born talent with ancestral links.

While India’s recent win over Hong Kong helped halt a prolonged slide in the rankings, Satyanarayanan’s remarks highlight the broader challenges facing the national team as it looks to climb back towards the top 100 in world football.