New Delhi:India should aim to improve its ranking in international football before it can hope to qualify for major continental or world competitions, the game's governing body in the country has said.

India, ranked 157th in the FIFA charts, were always at a disadvantage when it came to qualifying for any major international competition, All India Football Federation Secretary-General Alberto Colaco said today.

"The qualification draws for major tournaments are made according to the FIFA rankings. As such, more often than not, we are placed alongwith at least two much stronger teams in our group," Colaco said in an informal chat with journalists at the AIFF's headquarters 'Football House.'

The new FIFA system which takes into account the result as well as the margin of victory for calculating the ranking had also worked against India, he said.

"The repeated defeats in the Asian Cup qualifiers with margins such as 7-1, 6-0 and 3-0 have hurt our rankings considerably," Colaco said.

He said with the kind of ranking India has at present, it was very difficult to even think about qualification for tournaments like the Asia Cup.

"Last time we were put in the same group as Japan and Saudi Arabia which put us in an unenviable position," he said.

He said a comprehensive strategy was needed to improve India's ranking.

"We need to play more tournaments where we can make it to the semifinals at least which should help the team's confidence.