{
  "id": 867500,
  "title": "India football ‘closer than ever’ to overseas players representing the nation",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/14/india-football-closer-than-ever-to-overseas-players-representing-the",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-14T11:40:55.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Gulf News",
    "slug": "gulf-news",
    "url": "https://gulfnews.com/sport/india-football-closer-than-ever-to-overseas-players-representing-the-nation-1.500640998"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Dubai: Indian football's future looks promising as authorities grow confident that players of Indian heritage living overseas may soon be eligible to represent the national team. Presently, Indian-heritage footballers based abroad cannot represent India without giving up their foreign passports, which has prevented overseas-based players from earning international caps and improving the country's FIFA ranking. A senior official expressed confidence that rules will soon change, allowing eligible players to don the Indian national team jersey. Yan Dhanda, a Scottish Hearts player born in England to an Indian father, supports the change despite holding an OCI card and a British passport. Former Mumbai City FC COO Arunava Chaudhuri believes this move could elevate Indian football significantly. The prospect of allowing diaspora players could open the door to a broader talent pool from around the world, potentially aiding India's bid for the 2036 Olympic Games. India has never qualified for a FIFA World Cup, but foreign players of Indian origin, like Sarpreet Singh, have already competed in the tournament. The first-ever player of Indian origin to start a FIFA World Cup match was Sarpreet Singh, who represented New Zealand at the 2022 World Cup.",
  "summary": "Dubai: A major development for Indian football is on the horizon, with the country’s football authorities increasingly confident that players of Indian heritage based in Europe could soon be eligible to represent the national team. Current rules bar Indian-heritage footballers based overseas from representing the national team unless they give up their foreign passport. The rules have so far…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}