Blow for Indian football as Constantine rules out Mansfield Town defender's inclusion in national team

Danny Batth’s recent visit to India sparked wide-ranging debates about the status of Persons of Indian Origin (PIO) players eligible to represent India in international football.

The Wolverhampton Wanderers captain fueled the talks as he expressed his desire to play for the Blue Tigers, and despite his meeting with Union Sports Minister Vijay Goel, there is still some way to go before India entertains foreign-based players in its national football team.

Malvind Singh Benning is another promising player who plies his trade in the lower divisions of English football. The 23-year-old turns out for League Two outfit Mansfield Town, and the defender with Indian heritage is the latest name to be linked with the Indian national team.

Stephen Constantine, the India head coach, had fruitful discussions with Batth last week on the sidelines of a training camp in Mumbai. While Batth confirmed his willingness to represent India, bureaucratic red tapes mean that seeing Batth don India’s colours is a pipe dream at best.

According to Jake Speight, director of Fifteen Eleven Management — the agency which manages Benning — Constantine is well aware of the Mansfield Town player’s Indian roots and eligibility but him playing for India isn’t a possibility at the moment.

Since Benning doesn’t reside in India, it is not possible for the defender to play for the Indian national team, Constantine confirmed, according to Speight.

This comes as a blow for Indian football as, despite the signs of progress on the PIO players’ front, nothing seems to be materialising. Government intervention could aid the cause, but it seems unlikely that a constitutional amendment will be effected in the immediate future to accommodate the PIO players in the Blue Tigers’ squad.

Indian citizenship rules state that to represent India in international football, a player must have an Indian passport. While the likes of Batth and Benning are ready to forego their British passports in favour of an Indian one, there is another stumbling block that is much bigger.

The other rule for PIO players is that to represent the Indian national football team, a player must reside in India for at least 12 months before applying for Indian citizenship which, given their thriving careers in England, both Batth and Benning will be unlikely to adhere to.

India’s rigid citizenship rules could see its national team miss out on another set of England-based players. Both Batth and Benning would add considerable experience and pedigree to the Blue Tigers, but at the moment, Constantine and his staff have to limit themselves to selecting the national team from a pool of purely Indian players.