India have been handed a shot in the arm by the Bureau of the FIFA Council – comprised of the FIFA President and the presidents of each of the six confederations, who convened this week and agreed upon a new list of slot allocations for the 48-team 2026 FIFA World Cup.
This recommendation will now be forwarded to the FIFA Council for ratification, which is expected to be a part of the agenda when they next convene on the 9th of May.
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Why the proposed list of allocations might excite the Indian team and the All India Football Federation (AIFF) is because the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) have had their share of slots doubled!
In the existing scenario, AFC gets four confirmed slots plus one playoff slot, but the proposal hikes that to eight confirmed slots plus a maximum possible of two more to take part in a six-way playoff.
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India, all set to move up to the 12th position on the list of AFC's rankings, will certainly smell blood with the new proposal and look to take full advantage of the same to cement themselves and play in their first-ever World Cup!