AIFF President Kalyan Chaubey Blames India’s FIFA Ranking Decline To ‘Complex’ Nature Of System | Football News

Last Updated:August 10, 2025, 17:56 IST

AIFF President Kalyan Chaubey blames India’s drop to 133rd in FIFA rankings on system volatility. Despite rising to 99th in 2023, losses in the AFC Asian Cup caused the decline.

(Credit: AIFF Media)

All India Football Federation (AIFF) President Kalyan Chaubey has attributed the national men’s team’s recent slide in the FIFA world rankings to the “complex and fluctuating” nature of the system, while expressing optimism that results against higher-ranked opponents could spark a revival.

India slumped to its lowest position in nine years, falling six spots to 133rd in the latest FIFA rankings released on July 10.

“FIFA ranking is based on the historical performance of a national team in international matches played in preceding years. It is determined using the Elo Model,” Chaubey explained.

“This method adds or subtracts points for matches to or from a team’s existing total point.”

He noted that the formula inherently creates year-on-year volatility. “It depends on the number of matches the team plays and the ranking of the opponent. In 2023, we moved to 99 from 106 when I took charge, and now in 2025, from 99 we have gone down to 133.”

From Highs in 2023 to Decline in 2024–25

India’s rise in 2023 was built on three tournament victories, which helped them break into the top 100 at 99th place in the July rankings. However, the slide began soon after. The team dropped to 102nd in December 2023 before falling further to 117th following group-stage defeats to Australia, Uzbekistan, and Syria at the AFC Asian Cup in January 2024.

“The losses against very strong teams like Australia and Uzbekistan in the Asian Cup led to the national team losing a lot of places in the rankings,” Chaubey said.

Post-Asian Cup form offered little recovery: five losses in 12 matches, including one against reigning Asian champions Qatar, alongside one win and six draws. “Of course, the less-than-satisfactory performance in subsequent matches did not help the team but it was not that bad,” Chaubey reflected.

“I am hoping that the team will rise again if it does well in the CAFA Nations Cup and the remaining Asian Cup qualifying round matches.”

Historical Context: India’s Place in the Rankings

Chaubey, a former India goalkeeper, pointed out that India’s FIFA journey began near the bottom.

“FIFA first published its ranking in December 1992, and India was ranked 143rd out of 211 member countries. Thereafter, India went down to 173 in 2015, and then rose to 97 in 2018. India’s best ranking was 94 in February 1996, much before the NFL kicked off.”

Chaubey acknowledged that the popularity and growth of club football in India has not translated into national team success.

“Over the last decade, Indian football has seen remarkable progress, including the upliftment of stadium infrastructure, improvement in club professionalism and quality of play, enhanced logistical support for players with better pay scales, and world-class broadcasting—making ISL one of the most viewed leagues in Asia,” he said.

However, he stressed that most investment has flowed into club football rather than directly into the national team’s development.

(with agency inputs)

Siddarth Sriram

After training in the field of broadcast media, Siddarth, as a sub-editor for News18 Sports, currently dabbles in putting together stories, from across a plethora of sports, onto a digital canvas. His long-term…Read More

After training in the field of broadcast media, Siddarth, as a sub-editor for News18 Sports, currently dabbles in putting together stories, from across a plethora of sports, onto a digital canvas. His long-term… Read More

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