In what is being seen as a major setback for the Indian Football Team, the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has decided against sending them for the Asian games 2018 to be held in Jakarta and Palembang. The All India Football Federation (AIFF) has, however, stated that it is willing to send the national team to the Asian Games on its own cost.The IOA chose not to clear Indian men's and women's Football Teams since they have deemed them "incompetent" to win any medals.The Indian football team is hoping to use the Asian games as a build up for next year's AFC Asian Cup.In an official statement yesterday, AIFF had said, "It’s clear the IOA lacks the vision and competence to understand that Football is a global sport played by 212 countries and that the top 5 teams in Asia play in the FIFA World Cup where the level of competition is far superior to the Asian Games."AIFF added that the "IOA's myopic view" is in sharp contrast to that of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports and Sports Authority of India (SAI). The Ministry and SAI have been encouraging the Indian football team for the past many years.It was also alleged by the AIFF that, "IOA was never bothered to even discuss the strategy and plans with AIFF for developing football in India."According to the statement, President of the AIFF, Praful Patel approached Narinder Batra to make a case for the Indian Football team but the decision, however, remains unchanged.AIFF general secretary Kushal Das today said that the AIFF was "disappointed and unhappy" with the decision IOA has taken. Das was quoted by PTI saying, "If expenses are an issue we are willing to pay for the team's travel and stay."Das also said that AIFF has got no official communication from the IOA about the team's non-participation and it has all been verbal."Indian Football is witnessing a steady rise in the past few years. The national side has jumped from 173 to 97 in the FIFA rankings, qualified for the AFC Asian Cup 2019 and has successfully hosted the FIFA U-17 World Cup. The ' Blue Tigers ' are currently ranked 14th in Asia, after a string of good performances in international matches of late.