Vishnu Prasad By

Express News Service

CHENNAI:There haven’t been many more crucial years for the Indian football team than 2018. Less than 12 months remain before India will march out for their Asian Cup opener. It is almost certain that India will be in Pot 3 for the Asian Cup draw in April — they have just the one game against Kyrgyzstan left before that and they will likely have to make it to the high 80s in FIFA rankings to get to Pot 2. This means there will one lower-ranked team in India’s group — a golden chance for the team to grab a first win since 1964.

All that will depend on how the team prepares over the next 12 months and the All India Football Federation is firming up plans. The biggest pin on their calendar is a four-nation tournament in June — the 2018 version of the one that was held in Mumbai last year as a tri-nation tournament, featuring St Kitts & Nevis and Mauritius. AIFF, though, has more ambitious plans for this year’s edition.

The federation is seeking to invite higher-ranked opponents

“Things are in the planning phase right now and we will start sending out invites over the next couple of weeks,” federation sources revealed. “We are planning the tournament in either late May or early June. We want each team to be from a different continent. The Asian Cup draw will be over by the time the tournament starts. The emphasis will be on playing strong opponents rather than boosting rankings. So we will look to ensure that every team that comes over is stronger than, or at least as strong as, India is.”

The names that are being discussed at the AIFF headquarters are some lofty ones. They’re planning to send invites to New Zealand who played the World Cup in 2010 and Armenia, who boasts the likes of Henrikh Mkhitaryan — currently in news over a transfer from Manchester United to Arsenal — in their ranks. “Of course, just because we invite them doesn’t mean they will accept and come. But we think that any team that hasn’t qualified for the World Cup will seriously consider our proposal,” sources said.

The tournament will most likely be held in Bengaluru. In September, the U-23 team (with three senior players) will participate in the Asian Games and the SAFF Cup in Bangladesh will start just days after the Games end. There also plans to play friendlies on the FIFA dates in October and November. But after that comes a bit of a grey area — federation officials talk of a ‘long break’ in December before the Asian Cup starts, possibly a month-long camp. But just how receptive various Indian Super League clubs will be to losing their best players for two months, remains to be seen.

AIFF secretary Kushal Das is confident that things will work out. “We are looking at having a camp of 30-35 days in December,” he told Express. “Before that we will play friendlies in October and November. We will look at introducing a break in the ISL during this period so that teams will have no complaints about missing players.”

vishnu.prasad@newindianexpress.com