New Delhi: Having come under pressure from the National Football League clubs, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) has decided not to include more than three players from any team in the pre-Olympic squad.

According to AIFF sources, the federation has asked stand-in national coach Colin Toal to prune down his list of campers from 25 to 20 on Tuesday and release all other players for NFL duty.

Toal, however, is believed to be reluctant to toe the federation line.

AIFF general secretary Alberto Colaco has already written to the clubs informing them that not more three players each would be selected for the national team.

Churchill Brothers had protested against the inclusion some of some of their key players for the India national camp.

This is not the first time the AIFF is enforcing the three-player restriction formula for selection of the national squad. In 2002, the AIFF came up with a similar idea for the pre-World Cup squad which resulted in Basudeb Mondal, then with Mohun Bagan, finding himself out of the national team.

The biggest beneficiary of the AIFF’s latest diktat could be Mohun Bagan, who have five players in the present squad.

Churchill Brothers have four in the India bunch, but it may not help them as much since two of their players — goalkeeper Arindam Bhattacharya and defender Varun Deep — are injured.