'India Targeting 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar Qualification' Says AIFF President

Doha, November 20 (QNA) - All India Football Federation (AIFF) President Praful Patel says that his country must ensure the 'right steps' are taken as they target qualification for the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar. Patel - who is also an AFC Vice President - says that qualifying in six years' time would be the perfect opportunity to capitalise on the vast support for the national team during the first ever FIFA World Cup in the Middle East. "We will aspire towards qualifying for the 2022 World Cup because of the support our national team is going to receive and will need to ensure that right steps are taken towards realising this objective," said Patel. "Indian football's further growth will therefore be of direct long-term to Qatar football, including the successful hosting of the 2022 World Cup." Speaking on the sidelines of the India Football Forum 2016 in New Delhi, he told the website of the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy (www.sc.qa) that he was impressed by the passionate support shown by the Indian expatriate community of Doha to recent AFC Cup finalists Bengaluru FC. He also said that the game was a great example of how Qatar and India can work together to support the other's growth on the global football stage. "We believe that Qatar are our natural partners in the Asian football family and the AFC Cup final has illustrated this," he continued. The Indian national team last won the Asian Games title in 1962, and was runners-up in the AFC Asian Cup two years later. But no side from the country has managed to reach an Asian final since then, until the club from the southern metropolis qualified for the final in Doha in front of nearly 6,000 spectators, most of them drawn from Qatar's 700,000-strong Indian expatriate community. In 2013 he oversaw the AIFF's successful bid to win hosting rights for India's first ever FIFA tournament - the Under-17 World Cup of 2017 - and he is now presiding over ongoing preparations towards its successful delivery. His organization recently launched an Under-17 World Cup legacy project, a grassroots initiative called Mission Eleven Million intended to make football the sport of choice for 11 million urban children by the time of the historic tournament and expand the reach of the initiative in the years following the landmark event. "Winning the Under-17 World Cup hosting rights has sparked the interest of the Indian government in the development of the sport." However, Patel said this is just the beginning of the journey for Indian football and called on his country's natural partners to help in the growth of the game. "There is still some way forward for Indian football to complete the three-way jigsaw which will take it to its desired goal - player development, infrastructure growth and incremental investment. "More needs to be done and we need all possible help, including financial, from all our natural partners including Qatar," he added. (QNA)