AIFF plans to hold national camp in September before WC qualifier against Qatar

The All India Football Federation is planning to carry a camp for the senior nationwide staff in Bhubaneswar in early September forward of the 2022 World Cup qualifying spherical match in opposition to Qatar in October. AIFF General Secretary Kushal Das stated a response from the Odisha authorities is anticipated quickly on the holding of the nationwide camp. If it occurs, the gamers will get a month earlier than the match in opposition to Asian champions Qatar to be held on October 8.

“With regards to the senior men’s team, our plan is to start the camp sometimes in early September. We want the camp in Bhubaneswar as the match against Qatar was scheduled there,” Das stated.

“We’re in touch with the state government of Odisha as well as SAI. We are expecting to get a response from them. It’s a very tricky situation but we need to come up with the best possible solution given the circumstances,” he was quoted as saying by AIFF TV in a chat.

Odisha has reported greater than 14,000 COVID-19 instances with over 75 deaths. India are already out of competition for a berth within the 2022 World Cup however they’re within the reckoning for a spot within the 2023 AFC Asian Cup as it’s a joint qualification marketing campaign.

After taking up Qatar, India play Bangladesh (away match) on November 12 and in opposition to Afghanistan in Kolkata on November 17. Das admitted that the planning course of for camps of age-group groups has been thrown into disarray as a result of COVID-19 pandemic. But he stated the AIFF must discover a solution to begin camps for the Under-16 males’s and U-17 ladies’s groups quickly.

“The first important camp is for U-16 boys who are around three months away from the AFC U-16 Championship (starting November 25),” Das stated. “We are also conscious of the fact that the U-17 girls also need to start the camp as soon as possible.” India is internet hosting the U-17 FIFA Women’s World Cup from February 17 to March 7 subsequent yr.

He stated the AIFF was in talks with totally different state governments and the Sports Authority of India to host nationwide staff camps throughout age-groups. “It’s extremely frustrating … all planning processes have been interrupted because of the virus. Under a normal situation, the junior teams would have been sent on a number of exposure tours to get them battle-ready for major tournaments like AFC U-16 Championship or FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup. “While efforts still continue, exposure tours may not be a feasible solution keeping the safety of the players and the staff in mind.”

He earlier than the coronavirus outbreak, the AIFF had deliberate publicity excursions for the U-16 males’s staff that are shelved now.

“I’m hoping that we can arrange some tours, especially for the U-16 team, at least one tour before going to Bahrain. But, at this point of time it’s very difficult to predict. It’s definitely something to worry about.” Regarding the India U-17 ladies’s staff, Das stated, “… maybe by November or December things will get better. We can manage a few tours. We just hope for that.”

Talking concerning the impression of COVID-19 pandemic on sports activities, he stated, “For another year or maybe half-a-year, there will be limitations on the spectators inside the stadia. But hopefully in next two to three years, things will settle down and we’ll be back to some sort of normalcy.”