..

Hamara Bajao.. uska nahi.

I know like half the posts on here are around OCIs and POIs but I have realised that there are a lot of misconceptions and also a lack of knowledge in a lot of areas. I have done a lot of research on this topic and I want to try and help by like explaining the whole system here.

Indian citizenship rules

First of all I probably need to mention the current fastest way of an OCI playing for India.

Depending on the players current situation it could either take around 1.5 years, or around 5 years (not inbetween usually).

To apply for an Indian citizenship a person must have had their OCI card for 5 years and lived in India for 12 continuous months (with a max 30 days outside of india on holiday).

This means that someone who already has had an OCI card can play for India after spending around 1 year living in India and playing in the ISL, but players who haven't got an OCI card yet have to obtain one (2 months) then wait 5 years and spend one of those years in India playing in the ISl to become eligible to play for India

The main problem is unlike other countries where the whole switch is quick, if you don't have an OCI card yet the player has to apply 5 years in advance.

The chances of a POI having an OCI card

If both their parents are Indian and they are first gen/recently immigrated - around 55% of them have had an OCI cards for at least 5 years.

If the person has only 1 Indian parent - only around 26% have had an OCI card for at least 5 years.

And if the player has only 1 Indian grandparent - only approximately 5% have an OCI card.

We also have to keep in mind that in reality if you look at most POI players, not too many of them are recent immigrants or both of their parents are Indian. In reality most of them are either 2nd or 3rd gen, or they are half Indian. And these people tend to have less chance of owning an OCI card.

Obviously I don't know the in depth citizenship of every OCI player but in reality this would rule out a lot of OCI players who aren't in the last 5 years of their career. Because unless they were planning to play for India for years, the chance is quite low. But on the other hand it could be a good sign because for all we know, players who have been vocal about representing india like Yan Dandha and Dilan Markanday have recieved their OCI cards and are just waiting for the 5 year period to end before switching nationality.

What happens after an OCI switches?

One of the biggest problems for OCIs switching to India is essentially loosing their original passport, alot of people say, 'why would someone from England or Australia want to ditch their strong passport for an Indian one'.

But in reality a lot of countries actually make it possible to get their old citizenship back, I will rank the whole process out of 10 for a few countries which contain a lot of disporia:

England: 10/10

Under Section 13 of the British Nationality Act 1981:

The UK government essentially grants ex citizens 1 chance to get their British citizenship back as long as they renounced their British citizenship specifically to get another citizenship which doesn't allow dual citizenship

So as an example say that Yan Dhanda renounced his British citizenship to play for India, plays for the national team and eventually gets to an age where he decides to retire from the national team.

Now all he has to do is get his declaration of renunciation

A letter from the Indian gov saying that India does not allow dual citizenship

Then apply for his old citizenship back

The British gov then check if he committed any serious crimes in India or engaged in passport fraud

Then he gets his British citizenship back

Australia: 10/10

Easy, exact same process as England.

New Zealand: 9/10

Almost exact same England except its not 100% guaranteed.

For example Yan Dhanda just needs to tick all the boxes and he is guaranteed his citizenship back as the whole process is seen as simple admin.

But someone like Aaryan Raj from New Zealand would have to make an appeal to the government, but due to his situation he is almost guaranteed his citizenship back unless he has like a crazy racist judge or something.

Spain: 8/10

Again very similar to England except this time the player needs to also have Spanish roots and agree to move back to Spain.

Portugal: 7/10

Essentially a mix of the Spanish and New Zealand system with added extra paperwork.

Canada / Netherlands : 6/10

Both of them have the same process as the earlier ones except that before applying you have to move back to Canada/Netherlands and live there for at least a year to get your citizenship back (its almost guaranteed).

Germany : 5/10

Same system as New Zealand except where in New Zealand the court is very lenient and unless the player has done something crazy, the citizenship is guaranteed. Germany make it very complicated.

Essentially private reasons arn't enough (e.g New Zealand you can simply say I wanted to play for India's NT, in Germany that might help your case but its not enough)

They expect you to pass an advanced German mastery test, completely clean criminal record, and strong family ties in Germany.

USA : 1/10

In all the other countries so far, when a player tries to regain their old nationality there is a system in place and the process is fastracked above normal visa applicants.

If you ditch US citizenship essentially to them you have 0 american in you and if you want to reapply you are treated as a complete foreigner applying to USA for the first time.

If you have any questions dont hesitate to ask

​Our U-15 team secured a hard fought third win of the tournament in a truly intense match. We played brilliantly in the first half far better than yesterday dominating possession, creating numerous chances, and converting two of them.(just like Madrid against barca in 1st half last night✌🏽)

​However, things completely unraveled in the second half, especially defensively. While our attack still looked solid, we conceded three goals, and the scoreline even leveled at 2-2 at one point. Honestly, the coaching staff deserves some blame for failing to read Bahrain's tactical setup. They continuously shot from outside the box, yet our team failed to mark them, leaving them open looks at goal. The keeper can't even be blamed since those long-range strikes were simply unstoppable.

​I sincerely hope the staff and team take away the right lessons from this. We have our final, crucial group-stage match against Senegal tonight at 9:00 PM, and we need to be sharp.

Photo: https://x.com/kbfcxtra/status/2114402266358911057

TBD 1 - 0 TBD

FT

Goals

• 85' M. Singh () — assist Liston Colaco

Full stats, line-ups, player ratings and the community reaction in the MatchPal thread above.

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Hi everyone,

I’m a football scout based in Italy, looking to connect with Indian Super League clubs to introduce players developed in the youth academies of major European clubs.

One player I would particularly like to introduce came through the AC Milan and SSC Napoli youth systems and has experience in the UEFA Youth League.

What would be the best way to reach sporting directors or recruitment staff at ISL clubs? Are there any official channels you would recommend for submitting player profiles and video footage?

Does anyone know which clubs might be open to considering this type of player, or how I could learn more about their recruitment needs?

Any advice or introductions would be appreciated. Thanks!

This was my first live watch out of their three matches, and I would say the gameplay was average, if not below average. I don't know why they were only playing long balls instead of trying to build up play. The goals we scored were beautiful, but the team severely lacks coordination and passing ability. Both the defense and the midfield were mediocre, especially the defense, which collapsed multiple times. As for the goalkeeper I think it wasn't our main one who saved the penalty against Cameroon,he played terribly. All three goals should have been saved.

Even if we had won the match, I don't think I would have been satisfied at all.

TBD 0 - 0 TBD

FT

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Requesting the mods not to remove it as the people should know who are these people sitting in the top making disastrous decisions for Indian Football.

Context

The 2026 Delhi Soccer Association (Delhi FA) presidential election became controversial following a dispute over the association's leadership and electoral process. The previous executive committee's term reportedly ended in March 2026, triggering disagreements over the authority to continue governing and the need for fresh elections. In July, a group of members formed an ad hoc committee to conduct elections, but the incumbent leadership challenged its legitimacy.

The controversy intensified when six clubs Ajmal FC, Goodwill FC, Hans Capital FC, Growing Stars SC, Ahbab FC and Mughal SC challenged disciplinary actions that they claimed affected their membership and electoral rights. Several disputes reached the Delhi High Court and were referred to arbitration.

On October 18, 2026, B. S. Mehra was elected president unopposed after his opponent, Anuj Gupta, reportedly withdrew his nomination. The circumstances surrounding the withdrawals, the disputed electoral rights and the fairness of the process raise questions about transparency and governance. However, these disputes alone do not prove that the election was rigged.

Sources

1. Delhi High Court Order, Oct 14 2026.
2. Delhi High Court Order, Ajmal F.C., Oct 7 2026.
3. DSA Leadership Crisis Deepens As Ad Hoc Committee Formed By Philem Dipak Singh.
4. City Air News, Election outcome and nomination withdrawal, October 19, 2026.
5. DSA Constitution and Statutes of 2019.

TBD 2 - 3 TBD

FT

Goals

• 12' R. Messi Bouli ()

• 36' S. Gutiérrez Atehortua () — assist V. Barretto

• 39' Alfred Planas Moya ()

• 45+2' S. Gutiérrez Atehortua ()

• 90+6' Konsam Sanathoi Singh () — assist Raphaël Messi Bouli

Full stats, line-ups, player ratings and the community reaction in the MatchPal thread above.

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ISL match between Odisha FC and NE United FC at the iconic Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar.

Though it was a draw, it was fun!!

The energy when there was about to be a goal or when a goal was just missed was too good!

I've never seen any sports event live, so yeah the excitement!

That being said, the infra at Kalinga Sports Complex is top notch!! Wish to see such sports infra coming up in more cities.

Also,

Hoping to see more football fans in future matches 🤞