The AFC rankings, which uses a complex set of metrics to determine the positions of MAs, shows India's clubs have earned more points in AFC Competitions than last year...

The Asian Football Confederation's (AFC) Member Associations (MA) rankings are out and it's certainly good news for the Indian football hemisphere. The country has jumped FOUR places to settle at 19th in the rankings table.

India's present position on the MA table is a significant improvement over their rankings last year, when in 2015 India were 23rd on the table. The present ranks pit the subcontinent above other Asian nations such as Oman, Singapore, Turkmenistan and Indonesia.

The AFC MA rankings is actually derived from a number of metrics which contribute to the MA's rise or fall down the table. This is usually called the 70 - 30 rule. The performance of teams belonging to each member FA is taken over a period of four years.

When the total points for each MA are calculated, 70% of the points is derived from the country's FA affiliated clubs' performance in AFC level tournaments viz. the AFC Champions League and AFC Cup, the first and second tier of the continent's premier football compeititions, respectively.

30% of the total points on the table are contributed to by the national team, which is derived from the FIFA rankings of the respective country, which outline their display on the international stage.

As per the AFC's latest manifesto outlining the points system for clubs, the rules followed for awarding points here for the AFC Champions League and AFC Cup is the same. They are as follows:

-> 3 points for ‘WIN’, 1 point for ‘DRAW’ and 0 point for ‘LOSE’.

-> Three additional points to be given to each club that advances to the next round (from Group Stage to Round of 16 / Round of 16 to Quarter-Finals / Quarter-Finals to Semi-Finals / Semi-Finals to Final).

-> Preliminary Stage and Playoff matches will not be counted.

-> In case MA has more than 1 club, then average points of clubs will be the final points for the respective MA.

-> It is important to note here that one point earned in the AFC Cup i only 1/3 the value of a point earned in the AFC Champions League. Which means every AFC Champions LEague point is equivalent to three points in the AFC Cup earned, a major advantage for MAs with teams in the top tier competition of Asian football.

Country 2013 2014 2015 2016 Total Club Points FIFA Ranking (Average) National Team Points Total Points (/100) India 5.667 3.167 3.333 5.333 17.500 19.291 151 6.584 25.876

India had two clubs vz. Mohun Bagan and Bengaluru FC participate in the AFC club level competitions this season. Mohun Bagan progressed to the second round of AFC Champions League qualification but will have been awarded no points as per the second point in the forementioned guidelines.

This mean's the Indian clubs have earned their MA points through their progress in the AFC Cup, where Bagan were ousted at the round of 16 by Tampines Rovers, but the Steelmen continue to thrive in the tournament, progressing to the quarterfinals after beating Kitchee in the Round of 16. They will face Singapore-based Tampines Rovers.

India are ranked at 163rd in the latest FIFA rankings released on 2nd June.

Korea Republic (South Korea) continue to dominate the rankings maintaining their number 1 position, with a total of 96.294 points followed by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) with 92.938.

India are just behind Malaysia, home of the present AFC Cup champions Johor Darul Takzim, behind only by 3.067 points.