Kolkata: Dreams of many Indians to see their country playing in the FIFA World Cup may turn out to be true and it could be as early as 2014 edition of the World Cup.
The newly appointed national coach of the Indian soccer team Bob Hougton on Sunday expressed hope that Team India may qualify for World Cup in the next eight years.
Pinning on some "remarkable developments" that is going to take place in the Indian football scene, Hougton said: "It seems to me that if India does not qualify for the world Cup in 2010, but some where around the year 2014 or 2018 the team can go up because of some remarkable development which is going to happen here".
Addressing a press conference before India's qualifying match for the AFC Asian Cup 2007 against Saudi Arabia, Houghton said with better facility and more money provided for the development of the game, young players could be urged to get involved with the game.
Houghton, who has played for Fulham FC from 1966-69 and Brighton from 1969 to 1970, had also been coach for Shenyang Ginda in the Chinese Super League.
In his 30-year coaching career, the Englishman has trained players in Europe, Africa and Asia.
He was appointed the new coach for Indian football team two months earlier by the All India Football Federation president Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi after he accepted the recommendations of the federation's technical committee.
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