All India Football Federation (AIFF) President Praful Patel confirmed that the federation will continue with the overseas scouting programme, after observing it has helped in unearthing talent from foreign shores.
On September 21 U-17 Head Coach Luis Norton de Matos announced his 21-man squad for the FIFA U-17 World Cup 2017, including two NRI players, defender Namit Deshpande and goalkeeper Sunny Dhaliwal.
"We are happy to continue Overseas Scouting Programme. If there is any available talent complying with all the government regulations then we will be more than happy to encourage them as they are also as Indian as we all are", said Patel.
Asked about the future of the programme apart from the U-17 team he said: "We will in due course continue this programme in other age groups too. But we have to honour the laws of the land.
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"People assume that any Person of Indian Origin (PIO) can play for India, but it is not the case. You need to be an Indian passport holder to be eligible. You also cannot be a dual citizen or passport holder. The laws are quite clear about citizenship and who can represent India."
The programme in partnership with the Sports Authority of India (SAI) and the Overseas Scouting Portal (OSP) was launched to ensure Non-Resident Indians (NRI) also had a chance to play for the India U17 team.
The AIFF's scouting team, led by Abhishek Yadav, explored every venue to find footballing talent capable of representing the nation.
--IANS
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