NEW DELHI, Jan 12: India have been invited to take part in the West Asian Football Federation (WAFF) championship and could find themselves in the same group as Qatar or Saudi Arabia, both of whom were involved in the World Cup 2022.
The WAFF Championship was originally scheduled to be played from March 20 to April 3 as a prelude to the Asian Cup 2023. But while the Asian Cup has now been postponed to January 2024 in Qatar, the WAFF Championship will go ahead with 12 teams in United Arab Emirates (UAE).
“The organisers have invited us to take part in the championship and we have already given our consent,” a senior official told on Tuesday. “The WAFF Championship will have a couple of invitational teams and we are now waiting for a final confirmation from the organisers about our participation.”
WAFF includes Asian champions Qatar, World Cuppers Saudi Arabia, Jordan, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Syria, Iraq, Oman, Kuwait, Lebanon, Yemen and Palestine.
The draw will be held on January 26.The championship has not always enjoyed participation from all member nations.
“We have been told that 12 teams will take part and they will be divided into three groups. India will have a minimum of three games,” said the official.
AIFF’s initial plan was to host two friendlies in India during the international window from March 20 to 28 but with no higher-ranked opponent willing to travel here, the federation was forced to look at alternatives.
Should India’s entry at the WAFF Championship get confirmed, they will have the possibility of playing much stronger opponents, which includes two World Cup 2022 teams, and several others like Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Oman who made it to the final round of the qualifiers.
India, though, could be short on preparations.
The final of the Indian Super League (ISL) is scheduled for March 18 which means players from the two finalists could either get left out or take part in international assignments after just one official training session with the team.
“National coach Igor Stimac wants a longer camp but it’s unlikely that he will have the players at his disposal. There are ISL playoffs happening in March,” said the official.The group stage of the ISL ends on February 26 and, for the first time, the league will see six teams making it to the playoff stage. Teams ranked between three and six will play a one-off game to decide which two teams complete the semifinal lineup. (Agencies)
