Indian football ranking will be above 100 in 7 years, says NorthEast United FC owner John Abraham

Guwahati: Indian Super League franchise NorthEast United FC co-owner John Abraham today expressed optimism that the country's ranking in international football would go up to "double digit" from the current 159th position in the next seven years. The Bollywood star said the ISL would play a very crucial role in overall development of Indian players.

"I think in the next seven years, the Indian football will develop a lot. I strongly feel that the world ranking of India will go up to double digit from what it is now," Abraham told reporters in Guwahati.

India share 159th position with Puerto Rico at present.

"In the next three years, we'll have superstars from India and more importantly from the North East. NEUFC's vision is to develop Indian, primarily north eastern players," he said. Talking about his own team's performance during the first session of the ISL, Abraham said he was disappointed with the fact that players could not convert opportunities into goals.

"We have not been able to finish despite playing well so far in the tournament. In the eight games so far, we played bad only once against FC Pune City in Pune...I hope we'll not let you down. If you ask anyone in India, everyone will say we have played the most exciting game," he said.