Gurpreet Singh Sandhu says it is up to AIFF and Indian government to allow foreigners to play for India

Naturalised players are ones with no genetic links to a particular country but are allowed to represent their national team after living there for a specific period of time.

India goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu in training ahead of the match with Malaysia. | Photo Credit: AIFF MEDIA

India goalkeeper and one of the captains, Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, passed the buck to the All India Football Federation (AIFF) about playing naturalised footballers in the national team.

Naturalised players are ones with no genetic links to a particular country but are allowed to represent their national team after living there for a specific period of time.

“It is completely out of my reach to answer as a player. I think it is very important for our Federation, our country (authorities) and our sports government (Ministry) to think about whether they want to do this or not,” Gurpreet told reporters in a virtual press conference, ahead of their international friendly in Hyderabad on November 18.

“My job is to go out there and perform for my national team and club. What I think about this is something I will keep to myself right now. Maybe in the future, I’ll share it. But at the moment, I think, it does not matter,” Gurpreet said.

The Blue Tigers will end 2024 with a match against lower-ranked Malaysia at the GMC Balayogi Stadium in a bid to improve their FIFA rankings and secure a spot in Pot 1 for the third round of 2027 AFC Asian Cup qualifiers next year.

“It (preparations for the match) has been good. It is our last FIFA window before the March games, the Asian Cup qualifiers and we will look to make the most of it,” Gurpreet said.

India’s opponent, Malaysia, has many naturalised players in their squad, such as Romel Morales from Spain and Endrick Dos Santos from Brazil.

At the 2023 Asian Cup, Malaysia had the joint-highest number of naturalised players (14) – tied with Hong Kong – but failed to progress to the second round after finishing last in its group.

“I think Malaysia has a good number of naturalised players and that is something (many) other teams like Sri Lanka are doing. It is their personal preference which they think can better them as a country,” Gurpreet said.

In 2018, the Malaysian Football Association allowed naturalised players to play in the national team, making it possible for any player – without any genetic links to the country – to represent Malaysia after living five years in the country without giving up passports of their home country.

For India, there is no such provision.

For a foreigner to play in India, they have to surrender their foreign passport, live in the country for 12 months and then apply for an Indian passport, receiving which they will then be eligible.

AIFF’s president Kalyan Chaubey had previously talked about a shortlist of 24 Person of Indian Origin (PIO) players that the federation was looking to bring through the above process but no further developments about the same have come up since.

Meanwhile, before the clash against the Malay Tigers, Manolo Marquez’s boys would look to save the blushes of their manager, who is yet to win a match as India coach, since succeeding Igor Stimac.

“For me, last year was the first time I featured in a match against Malaysia – a very good team with new faces. We could have more out of that game as we scored a goal which was not given,” Gurpreet said.

“Such things happen in football and we need to make sure we go with everything we have (this time around).”