Who will participate in the 2012 Nehru Cup?

The All India Football Federation is set to organise the 2012 edition of the Nehru Cup from August 23 to September 2 at the Nehru Stadium in New Delhi. Besides hosts India four other nations will take part in the Nehru Cup which will be held three decades after the first edition in 1982. Also it will be part of the AIFF celebrating its Platinum Jubilee (75th anniversary).

But there is confusion on who will participate in the tournament this year with invited country football associations telling their respective national media that they will participate after accepting the AIFF offer. The only thing which is clear is that the AIFF is preferring to have two African and two Asian sides joining India in a five team competition.

The AIFF had send out more then 10 invitations across Asia and Africa. After it became clear that Nigeria wouldn't like to take part, Cameroon and Kenya were approached with Kenya having since accepted the invitation while Cameroon had given positive feedback about an interest to participate. Another nation doing the rounds as possible back-up is Senegal.

Meanwhile within Asia the nations of Afghanistan, Jordan, Maldives, the Philippines, Syria and Thailand are said to be amongst the nations approached with Jordan, Maldives, the Philippines and Syria all willing to participate.

Currently the AIFF seems to favour Cameroon and Kenya plus Syria and Jordan taking part in the tournament. But the AIFF will soon have to take a final decision on who it would like to see participate in the tournament, so the search for a title sponsor and television broadcaster can go ahead in full flow, then on the 75th anniversary it wouldn't show Indian football in good light without one of these or even both.

AFC Cup: Al Orouba trash East Bengal

Yemen's Al Orouba drubbed East Bengal Club 4-1 in a Group B match to keep their hopes in reaching the AFC Cup pre-quarterfinals alive, while the red-and-gold lost their fifth group match in a row.

Al Orouba knew defeat or even a draw at the Prince Mohammad International Stadium in Amman could end their campaign, Abdellah Yahya and Yasser Al Gabr added to Duke's first half double after the break to ensure Al Orouba remain in the picture heading into the final Matchday in a fortnight's time.

East Bengal only could strike late through Brazilian substitute Edmilson Marques Pardal, who beat Al Orouba goalkeeper Muaadh Abdulkhaleq from inside the box and it was the only consolation for the Kolkata giants on another frustrating AFC Cup night.

A disappointed East Bengal coach Trevor Morgan said, "The better side won today as our opponents had a good performance while we were not lucky in defence and we conceded four goals, including two goals in the first half, which ended the game early."

"We conceded goals from free-kicks and from different chances as the marking was not good from our side. Our defence was not at its best and we paid for that," Trevor added.

AFC Cup: East Bengal aim for win in Jordan

East Bengal Club have a tough assignment later today against Al Orouba of Jordan at the Prince Mohammed International Stadium in Amman. The red-and-gold have lost all their four matches so far, but after Salgaocar's first win yesterday the hope is that the Kolkata giants will follow in their path.

East Bengal coach Trevor Morgan sounded positive at the pre-match press conference, "Although we have so far got no points in this competition we would go all out to win tomorrow's game. In our home match we were denied full points due to some poor refereeing."

"Although we cannot qualify we will give our best which would enable us to do well in the remainder of the season," Trevor added.

Meanwhile captain Sanju Pradhan, who has been nominated for Fan Player of the Year, added, "We will give off our best in the match which would inspire us to do well in rest of the matches."

For Al Orouba the match has special significance then in third place they need the three points to keep the pressure on table toppers Arbil from Iraq and Kuwaitis Kazma SC.

Al Orouba coach Mohammed Saleh said before the game, "East Bengal is a strong and organized team, moreover they do not have any pressure and would go all out to win the match. This would be one of the most difficult matches for us and we will have to be at our best to win this match. Three points from this game would facilitate our qualification chances otherwise we would be eliminated."

AFC Cup: Indian clubs lose once more

The two Indian participating clubs - Salgaocar SC and East Bengal Club - in the 2012 AFC Cup both suffered further defeats in the fourth round of matches and are now out of the competition. While East Bengal lost 0-2 at Iraqi side Arbil SC, Salgaocar were beaten 1-2 at home by Al-Wehdat from Jordan.


East Bengal suffered their fourth defeat in this seasons AFC Cup, a 0-2 away loss to Iraqi side Arbil SC who were the better side on display but they needed two penalties on both sides of the break. Syrian striker Abdulrazak Al Husein broke the deadlock in the first minute of stoppage time at the end of the first half at Francouse Al Hareeri Stadium. And just two minutes into the second half, Al Husein again held his nerve from the spot to hand Arbil a second win of the campaign to join Kuwait's Kazma three points clear of Yemen's Al Orouba at the top of Group B with just two games remaining.

"Arbil are a strong team and we struggled a lot against them whether in the previous match or tonight. They deserved to win as our side didn't have a good performance," said East Bengal assistant coach Ranjan Chaudhuri who was in-charge in the absence of Trevor Morgan.

"We learnt a lot from today's match and we will go into our next two matches against Al Orouba and Kazma looking to prepare for the local league as we have suffered four consecutive defeats in the AFC Cup."


Ten men Salgaocar SC suffered a 1-2 loss against Al-Wehdat from Jordan at the Nehru Stadium, Margao which ended any hopes of the Goans to progress from the group stage. Amer Abuhwaiti's eighth minute opener had put the visitors in command and Salgaocar were reduced to ten men in the 55th minute when defender Khelemba Singh was given his marching orders for a second booking in the 55th minute, but midfielder Ahmed Ishfaq equalised with 19 minutes remaining to raise hopes of at least one point staying in Goa but Mahmoud Shelbaieh struck in the 82nd minute to maintain his perfect record of scoring in every game during the 2012 Group Stage to hand Al-Wehdat a third win of the campaign and go level in the AFC Cup all-time top scorers' list with Rico (Leandson Dias da Silva).

"Al Wehdat were physically superior and most of their players had experience playing in the AFC Cup. They knew what they were doing, they held possession and attacked at will," said Salgaocar coach Karim Bencherifa after the match.

"However, I will take nothing from Salgaocar as my boys showed a lot of character. We were better than Al-Wehdat in many departments like crossing, speed and energy. Overall I am very happy."

AFC Cup: Indian clubs look for elusive win

The two Indian participating clubs - Salgaocar SC and East Bengal Club - in the 2012 AFC Cup continue to look for the elusive win in their continental campaign tomorrow. East Bengal Club travel to Iraq to face Arbil SC, while Salgaocar SC host Jordanian side Al-Wehdat in Goa.


The Kolkata giants have lost all three Group B matches so far and will try to make amends at the Francouse Al-Hareeri Stadium in Arbil tomorrow, but they had to travel to Iraq without coach Trevor Morgan and striker Tolgay Ozbey due to visa issues. Last week East Bengal conceded two goals against Arbil in the last quarter of the match to lose 0-2 at home which they will want to avoid tomorrow.

East Bengal will be coached by assistant coach Ranjan Chaudhury who said at the pre-match press conference, "We will get more international experience. We are expecting a tough match but will go all out for victory."

Captain Sanju Pradhan added, "We will play for a win as any loss will throw us out of the competition."

And Arbil aren't taking the red-and-gold lightly as their coach Nezar Mahrous said, "We are expecting a tough match and as our rivals have lost three matches and will go all out to win the match. Moreover although my team is good but the right combination is not clicking."

Maybe there lies the chance for East Bengal to cause an upset in the Kurdish controlled region of North Iraq where the weather is pleasant and the match will kick-off at 18.00 local time.


Salgaocar SC hope to make amends for a 5-0 trashing at the hands of Al-Wehdat last week at the King Abdullah International Stadium in Amman. If the Goans have any hopes of staying in the competition then they will need a win as otherwise their first AFC Cup will be over in the group stage.

Salgaocar SC coach Karim Bencharifa banks on the fan support to help them pull of another surprise result like their home tie against Uzbek side FC Neftchi. "We need support from our fans. In such a game, we need to punch above our weight to compete with Al Wehdat, and we need all the support possible," said Karim at the pre-match press conference.

But Karim will have a problem fielding his foreign recruits. "We will be playing without Luciano (Sabrosa) who is suspended, Chidi (Edeh) and (Ryuji) Sueoka who are injured," said Karim who still will hope to have Chidi and Sueoka at his disposal.

Talking about the away game Karim said, "The last game was a difficult one, many things did not go our way, plus Al Wehdat's physical presence was also very strong. However, we have to stay optimistic. That's the beauty of football. We’ll only know the result once the game is over."

Al-Wehdat's Serbian coach Branko Smiljanic said, "To be frank I was a bit concerned. I was worried about the heat and humidity before arriving here, but after yesterday's practice I see now that it is not so bad. We came here one day early so that should help us to acclimatize. I think we will manage. For us it's a big game, I know Salgaocar is a good team and it is going to be difficult for us to play them at home."

The AFC Cup Group D match is is scheduled to kick-off at 17:45 IST tomorrow at the Nehru Stadium, Margao.

AFC Cup: Both Indian clubs lose

The two Indian participating clubs - Salgaocar SC and East Bengal Club - in the 2012 AFC Cup both suffered defeats in the third round of matches. While East Bengal lost 0-2 at home against Iraqi side Arbil SC, Salgaocar were trashed 5-0 by Al-Wehdat from Jordan.


East Bengal and Arbil played out a dull first session with the red-and-gold having the better chances, but their poor finishing in the continental competition let them down once more. Arbil took a 76th minute lead through a Amjed Radhi strike, while East Bengal conceded a second goal in injury time when Abdulrazak Al Husein finished off a counter attack.

It was East Bengal third defeat in as many matches, which leaves the club with little chance to progress to the AFC Cup pre-quarterfinals.

"We had our chances and played well, but the difference between the two sides was that while Arbil seized the opportunities they created, we missed ours," said East Bengal coach Trevor Morgan.


Al-Wehdat scored a convincing 5-0 win against I-League champions and Federation Cup winners Salgaocar SC which leaves the Goan club with a mountain to climb if they are to make the knockout stage.

A penalty from Abdallah Deeb opened the scoring in the 25th minute at the King Abdullah International Stadium in Amman before Ahmad Elias doubled the advantage just two minutes into the second session. Further second-half goals from Issa Al Sapah, Mahmoud Shelbaieh and Amer Abuhwaiti secured a comfortable win for the Jordanians as Al-Wehdat moved three points clear of third placed Al Arouba, who lost 3-1 to table-topping FC Neftchi in Uzbekistan.

"I didn't expect this performance from Al Wehdat following their recent matches. They were organised and they gave us huge problems and deserved to win," said Salgaocar coach Karim Bencherifa.

AFC Cup: East Bengal & Salgaocar under pressure

The two Indian participating clubs - Salgaocar SC and East Bengal Club - in the 2012 AFC Cup will try to get their first win of the campaign tomorrow. East Bengal Club host Arbil SC from Iraq in Kolkata, while Salgaocar SC have travelled to Jordan to face Al-Wehdat in Amman.

The Kolkata giants have lost both their Group B matches so far and will try to make amends at the Saltlake Stadium tomorrow afternoon. Coach Trevor Morgan has finally got his whole squad at his disposal.

At the pre-match press conference Trevor Morgan said, "We have learnt from our mistakes in the last match and will improve to aim for a win." Trevor further added, "We have to be more resolute in the defence." He also commented that his team had to suffer due to poor supervision in the first match against Al Orouba of Yemen.

East Bengal striker Tolgay Ozbey said, "Our aim is to win and we all will be giving our best to put up a impressive show tomorrow."

Iraqi side Arbil SC have come to Kolkata with two draws in the tournament to their name which puts pressure on boths sides to play for a win. Arbil will be without injured Iraqi internationals forward Luay Salah and defender Saad Atiah. The four foreign players for the Iraqi side are – Ugandan defender Ivan Bukenya, Syrian midfielders Abdelrazak Al Hussain and Nadim Sabagh along with Nigerian forward Obode Efe.

In Jordan Salgaocar SC will try to build on their impressive draw against FC Neftchi of Uzbekistan, but Al-Wehdat will hope to score a second home win in a row after beating Omani side Arouba 2-1 in their last match.

At a pre-match press conference Karim Bencharifa said, "Al-Wehdat is a strong team, they beat the Omani team Al Arouba and it will definitely be a challenge to play them."

"I was satisfied with the training session yesterday and am hoping that our players will continue with the same momentum in the match tomorrow," said Karim. "It will be a challenge to play a strong team like Al Wehdat," Karim conceded, "and especially in a stadium full of passionate fans. However, I am optimistic that my players will overcome all the obstacles." Karim added.

Al Wehdat is banking on home support and has promised free entry for its fans for the match at the stadium tomorrow.

AFC Under-19 Women's Cup: India to host qualifying group

The official draw for the AFC U-19 Women's Championship 2013 Qualifying Rounds 1 and 2 were conducted at AFC House in Kuala Lumpur today.

In the first round there are 12 participating nations. The eight participating Member Associations in the Central, South and West regions were drawn into two groups of four teams each, while the East/ASEAN zones already consist of Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, Myanmar and the Philippines.

Group A would be host by India besides whom Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Bangladesh make-up the group. Group B consists of Jordan, Iran, Tajikistan and Palestine with Jordan playing hosts for this group with both the qualifying groups set to be played between October 19 to 27, 2012.

Each group shall play a one-round league, where each team in the group shall play one match against every other team and the top two teams from each group (total six teams) will proceed to Qualifying Round 2 which will be held in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam between December 1-9, 2012. For Round 2, seventh-ranked Thailand have been drawn into Group A while Vietnam, ranked sixth, into Group B.


THE GROUPINGS

ROUND 1
Group A: India, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Bangladesh
Group B: Jordan, Iran, Tajikistan, Palestine
Group C: Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, Myanmar, Philippines

ROUND 2
Group A: Thailand, Team Ranked 4, Team Ranked 5, Team Ranked 8
Group B: Vietnam, Team Ranked 3, Team Ranked 6, Team Ranked 7