India's Friendly against Qatar cancelled

The international friendly match between India and Qatar which was supposed to be played on Sunday, December 19 in Dubai has been called off. This information was given by the AIFF yesterday, but only today the reason behind the cancellation was made public.

The reason is simply the issue of where to play. India has been holding their final preparatory camp in Dubai since early November and wanted the match to be played in the Emirate of Dubai; while the Qataris wanted the match to be played in their capital Doha as part of their preparations for the 2011 AFC Asian Cup.

An Indian team official told PTI, "We had our own plans, so we wanted to play the match in Dubai, our base. And moreover, the match was originally scheduled to be held in Dubai and not Doha."

The AIFF and the Qatari FA could not find a agreeable solution so in the end the friendly was cancelled. This I find very sadly as a lot of international attention would have been on this game as Qatar only a couple of weeks ago was chosen as hosts of the 2022 FIFA World Cup and this is the first game of the Qatari national team after that decision in Zurich.

Meanwhile the AIFF and the local camp organisers are looking at finding a local club side from Dubai to play against on December 19/20 to test the team before India face Syria in their next international friendly on Sunday, December 26 in Dubai.