(Football news) FIFA’s decision to suspend India has cast a shadow over the future of Indian football and its players in the country. The ban was announced late on Monday as it may prevent India from hosting the women's Under-17 World Cup, which was set to begin on 11 October. On Wednesday, India's Supreme Court asked the federal government to take proactive steps to ensure that the ban is lifted and the U17 World Cup goes through.

FIFA gave a statement to AIFF saying "undue interference by a third party". This occurred when India's Supreme Court disbanded the AIFF in May and subsequently appointed a three-member committee to govern but according to FIFA rules it says that its member federations must be free from legal and political interference. FIFA has now suspended the Indian FA over third-party influence, while the suspension doesn't apply to domestic tournaments. It will affect India's participation in international matches and tournaments, especially participating in the AFC Championship and AFC Cup. This is a big blow especially for young players who were looking forward to participating in the U17 Women’s World Cup. India was set to host the tournament in 2020, but due to the Covid pandemic it was postponed and is now set to take place this October.

Something like this has happened before as countries such as Benin, Kuwait, Nigeria and Iraq were banned in the past year or so. Last year, Pakistan Football Federation was banned under the same rule but it was lifted in July 2022 after they revamped their footballing structure. In India, AIFF is led by former FIFA council member Praful Patel who has been holding the post for more than a decade. Mr Patel is also a member of parliament and belongs to the Congress Party which acts as a conflict of interest. Mr Patel had already completed three terms as the president of AIFF which indirectly made him ineligible to hold the post again as per regulations.

However, he still continued to stay on as president even after his term ended in December 2020 as AIFF did not hold any fresh elections. This has led the Supreme Court disbanding the federation in May this year and Mr Patel will be stepping down. It was then that the Supreme court appointed a three-member panel to take care of Indian football. More than 23 million people watch football in India and situations like this are quite embarrassing, especially when Indian football is getting the much needed attention with the ISL and the Indian National football team.

FIFA’s statement said the suspension will be lifted once the order to set up the committee is repealed and "the AIFF administration regains full control of the AIFF's daily affairs".

"FIFA is in constant constructive contact with the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports in India and is hopeful that a positive outcome to the case may still be achieved," the statement added.

"There's not much following for women's football in India, but things have changed in recent times. We were excited to watch footballers like Bala Devi play in the World Cup. I hope this ban doesn't last long," Ms Khan says.

Bhaichung Bhutia, former captain of the Indian men's football team, called the ban a "very unfortunate" and "harsh" decision.

"But at the same time I feel it's a great opportunity for us to get our system right," he told reporters, adding that he is hopeful the suspension will be lifted once AIFF elections are held.

"Since it is a World Cup, the sport would have got a lot of promotion. All eyes would have been on India and Indian players. Countless other girls might have been inspired to learn the sport after watching the games," Sai says.

Also read: FIFA move extremely harsh but also an opportunity to get house in order: Bhaichung Bhutia