Singh told reporters on board the flight to Brazil that he will raise the issue of football aid at his summit meeting with President Lula Da Silva, the Press Trust of India (PTI) reported.

The Prime Minister said he was persuaded by cabinet colleague Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi, who heads the Indian football federation, to seek Brazil's help "even though it was not on the official agenda", PTI reported.

"If we are aspiring to have the Olympics in our country, we must improve our capabilities in sports," Singh was quoted as saying.

"If co-operation with other countries like getting help of some coaches from other countries was needed, I do not see anything wrong in that."

While five-time World Cup winners Brazil head FIFA's official rankings, India lie low at 128.

India, ranked 26th in Asia, have never qualified for the World Cup finals.

The current Indian team, coached by Englishman Bob Houghton, is recovering from a 1-7 thrashing by Saudi Arabia in the Asian Cup qualifiers last month.

India, who have hosted the Asian Games twice in 1951 and 1982 and will hold the Commonwealth Games in 2010, are expected to bid for the 2016 Olympics.