Why are India’s football teams missing from Asian Games 2026? Here’s what happened
Sahal Abdul Samad in training ahead of India’s international friendly against Panama. | Photo Credit: AIFF Media
Sahal Abdul Samad in training ahead of India’s international friendly against Panama. | Photo Credit: AIFF Media
As the Indian men’s team prepares to take on FIFA World Cup 2026 participant Panama in Bengaluru on Friday, the football competitions at the ongoing Asian Games 2026 in Japan’s Aichi-Nagoya have entered the knockout stage.
An Indian contingent of more than 500 athletes is participating across 37 disciplines at the 20th edition of the Games, but football has no representation.
Last time in Hangzhou 2023, India sent both men’s and women’s teams. The men’s side was assembled at the eleventh hour after the Indian Super League agreed to release players late.
This time, however, the Indian football teams failed to meet the criteria set by the Sports Ministry.
In a circular dated September 24, 2025, the ministry stated: “The NSF will be eligible to nominate a team if either the team achieved a top 8 finish in the last Senior Asian Championships held within 12 months, or the team is ranked within the top 8 among Asian countries in international rankings as of 10 days before submission deadline of the final list by name.”
With the Asian Cup route unavailable, the teams had the rankings route to qualify.
The ministry set January 15 as the deadline for national federations to submit the names of athletes and teams.
In the FIFA rankings 10 days before the deadline, the Indian men’s team was ranked 27th in Asia, while the women’s team was 12th. Neither team, therefore, met the Sports Ministry’s top-eight criterion for Asian Games participation.
Published on Sep 25, 2026
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