Playing in the AFC Champions League (ACL), the premier club competition in Asia, has always been a distant dream to Indian clubs. In fact, in its current format, no Indian club has ever reached the group stages.
Until last season, winners of the I-League had a spot in the preliminary qualifiers of the ACL but no club has ever managed to make it out of the rigorous qualifying format where they end up battling it out with strong West Asian clubs.
However, that could change if the efforts of the All India Football Federation (AIFF) bear fruit.