AFC Under-16 Championship: India and Syria play out goalless draw

The India Under-16 boys and their Syrian counterparts played out a goalless draw in their second Group D match in the AFC Under-16 Championships at the Rah Ahan Stadium in Tehran. India now have a point from two matches and still have a chance to qualify for the quarterfinals.

The Indians were not overawed by the physically stronger Syrians but Colm Toal's wards took a defensive approach and resorted to a long-ball counter-attack tactic throughout while the Syrians tried to break the Indian defence without avail and when they did keeper Supratim Bhattacharjee was there.

The initial Indian thrust almost paid dividends when in the sixth minute captain Lalramzuava's free-kick from the edge of the box beat all only to hit the post and bounce back. Three minutes later, rival goalkeeper Khaled Ibrahim gathered the ball in time before either Sarthak Golui or Uttam Rai could pounce upon. Thereafter Syria had more of the ball though not being really dangerous as India stood its ground. Then Syrian Ahmad Ashqar's freekick in the 34th minute did not trouble goalie Supratim Bhattacharjee while Abdulatef Salkeni, who was later substituted, missed a closed range header in the 39th minute. It remained goalless at the break.

Syria came out with all guns blazing after the break and put India on the backfoot, but they survived this phase and in the 50th minute, a diving Khaled kept off a Alen Deory effort and the very next minute, Uttam Rai's touch just got that bit longer as he had almost got past rival central defender Jehad Bssmar, who had an outstanding game and denied Uttam Rai on the few occasions he broke trough.

Thereafter Syria continued to control proceedings, but India had their chances of counter-attacks like in the 73rd minute, when Uttam Rai broke past the entire defence but the Syrians jointly managed to deny the Sikkimese youngster. Towards the end Syria once again put pressure on India, but the South Asians once more survived the pressure and the match ended goalless.

India play their third and final Group League match against China on Thursday, September 27 at the Rah Ahan Stadium in Tehran.


MATCH STATS

India 0-0 Syria - Goals: none

India
20-Supratim Bhattacharjee - 4-Gurba Gagrai, 7-Mohammed Sajid Dhot, 8-Myron Mendes, 11-Sarthak Golui - 15-Alen Deory (74' 17-Geremsha Basumatary), 18-Germanpreet Singh, 22-Khiangte Lalramzuava [C] (66' 2-Nitin Jyal), 3-Raja Rawat (66' 21-Issac Vanmalswama) - 10-Uttam Rai, 14-Daniel Lalhlimpuia
Unused Subs: 1-Agaipal Singh, 23-Avinash Kumar; 5-Jimmy Maibam, 6-Manraj Singh, 9-Nabin Rabha, 12-Vivekananda Sagayaraj, 13-Vanlalduatsanga, 16-Kamalpreet Singh, 19-Hanan Javed Nellikkavil

Syria
1-Khaled Ibrahim - 2-Obela Sharbek, 21-Jehad Bssmar, 23-Mahmoud Karzoun, 14-Moumen Naji - 8-Tarek Almohammad Hndawi [C], 6-Ahmad Ashqar, 20-Mohamad Baraa Diyar Bakrli, 19-Bakr Ghalyoum (78' 7-Omar Mshhdani) - 9-Mohamad Rabee Srour (58' 15-Khaled Kourdoghli), 11-Abdulatef Salkeni (74' 5-Fahmi Hasan)
Unused Subs: 16-Alaa Al Omar, 22-Abdullah Alishak; 3-Abdullah Jniat, 10-Ali Baaj, 12-Fares Almozal, 13-Shahin Mohamad, 17-Subie Alhusni, 18-Mohamad Alomran

Referee
Strebre Delovski (Australia)

AFC Under-16 Championship: India face Syria in crucial match tomorrow

After their opening day 2-3 loss against title contenders Uzbekistan, the India Under-16 boys go into their second Group D match against Syria in the AFC Under-16 Championship in Tehran knowing that at least a couple or ideally a win could help their cause to qualify for the quarterfinals, while a loss could mean the end of their hopes.

After the loss against Uzbekistan the young Indians were a disappointed lot, then a point against a superior opponent was surely in their grasp.

Speaking about the next opponent head coach Colm Toal said, "Syria are a very tough side. They have some good individual players."

"We are looking forward to another tough game. They are strong and aggressive who can play football at the same time. They need to be lauded for their fighting spirit – the manner in which they came back to equalise in injury time (against China)," Colm adds.

"We couldn't prepare much because of the situation back home. I am confident about the ability of my boys but they haven’t been tested so far," Syrian coach Muhannad Alfakeer said.

"We have played International Friendlies against Oman and Jordan prior to coming here," he adds.

Meanwhile looking back Colm Toal said, "It was disappointment against Uzbekistan. Having shown so much improvement since the last time we played them, it's frustrating not to get a result which we deserved."

"There's hardly any recovery time for the players. The injuries sustained need to be healed and the physical reaction of the boys, whether the boys would be able to recover in time would play an important role,” he quips further.

"Our game is based on organisation and pressing. We do a lot of running around. The boys will have to be 100 percent fit," Colm ended.

India have a tough task on hand against Syria tomorrow at the Rah Ahan Stadium in Tehran.

2012 Nehru Cup - Results: India complete Hattrick!

India were and India are the reigning champions of the Nehru Cup, the third Nehru Cup title in a row. A great feat for the newly assembled squad under Dutchman Wim Koevermans.

The 2012 edition of the Nehru Cup was held from August 22 to September 2 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi. Besides host India the other four participating nations were Cameroon, Syria, the Maldives and Nepal.


FIXTURES & RESULTS

Round Robin League
22-Aug-2012: INDIA 2-1 Syria
23-Aug-2012: Maldives 2-1 Nepal
24-Aug-2012: Syria 2-2 Cameroon
25-Aug-2012: INDIA 3-0 Maldives
26-Aug-2012: Nepal 0-5 Cameroon
27-Aug-2012: Maldives 2-1 Syria
28-Aug-2012: INDIA 0-0 Nepal
29-Aug-2012: Cameroon 3-1 Maldives
30-Aug-2012: Syria 2-0 Nepal
31-Aug-2012: INDIA 0-1 Cameroon

Final
02-Sep-2012: Cameroon 2-2,4-5 India [penalties]

2012 Nehru Cup - Results: Cameroon top, India second

The 2012 edition of the Nehru Cup is being held from August 22 to September 2 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi. Besides the host and defending champions India the other four participating nations are Cameroon, Syria, the Maldives and Nepal.

Cameroon topped the round robin league group stage with 10 points from four matches ahead of India on seven points, the Maldives on six, Syria on four and Nepal finishing last on only a point. This means that tomorrow Sunday, September 2 Cameroon will meet India to play for the title of the 2012 Nehru Cup.

The matches are all being held at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium and with kick-off officially at 19.00 IST with Neo Prime showing all matches live and exclusive.


FIXTURES & RESULTS

Round Robin League
22-Aug-2012: INDIA 2-1 Syria
23-Aug-2012: Maldives 2-1 Nepal
24-Aug-2012: Syria 2-2 Cameroon
25-Aug-2012: INDIA 3-0 Maldives
26-Aug-2012: Nepal 0-5 Cameroon
27-Aug-2012: Maldives 2-1 Syria
28-Aug-2012: INDIA 0-0 Nepal
29-Aug-2012: Cameroon 3-1 Maldives
30-Aug-2012: Syria 2-0 Nepal
31-Aug-2012: INDIA 0-1 Cameroon

Final
02-Sep-2012: Cameroon - India

2012 Nehru Cup: Maldives score an upset against Syria

The Maldives scored a historic 2-1 victory against Syria, the islanders first-ever victory against an Arabian nation, in the 2012 Nehru Cup at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi. With the win the Maldives move to six points from three matches and now have a real chance to reach the finals; while Syria, the 2007 and 2009 finalists, are out with only a point to their name so far.

The match had to kick-off late due to continuing monsoon rains in the capital and it did hamper the two sides in the match. Surprisingly Syria adjusted better to the ground conditions while the Maldives needed some time then passing football was simply not possible, so both teams had to rely on aerial balls.

After a goalless first session the match came to life after the breather. Syria attacked a defensive Maldives, but the islanders took the lead through their striker Ali Ashfaq's header in the 59th minute. Syria now went all out into attack, but Maldives goalkeeper Mohamed Imran was often in the way or the strikers could not finish the attacks. In the 81st minute Syria did equalise through an acrobatic bicycle kick from Alaa Al Shbli, who was in an offside position but the ball came off a Maldives defender so the goal was legitimate and allowed.

With Syria equalising and continuing to put pressure on the Maldives defence it seemed only a matter of time when they would score the winner, but towards the end the match opened-up and the Maldives would score the winner of a counter-attack late in injury time when Ahmed Rasheed pushed the ball into an empty net from a Ali Ashfaq square pass.

The winner lead to a lot of discussions on the sidelines with Syria alleging the match was finished and over by then but the Maldives coach Istvan Urbanyi was sent off for dissent as he unnecessarily got involved in the sideline discussions.

Wim Koevermans: Only thinking from match to match!

It is a new beginning for Indian football under Dutchman Wim Koevermans as the Indian national team coach at the 2012 Nehru Cup and things look promising after the first couple of matches in the tournament.

But Wim Koevermans is not getting carried away by the two wins against Syria and the Maldives as the Dutchman said post-match, "It was a good win but we are taking one match at a time."

India is still learning on how Koevermans wants them to play, but their display against the Maldives was much better then against Syria especially after the breather. And that will have made Koevermans proud then his team was able to adopt to changes he made at half-time and the second session was good quality football from India, which has been rarely seen in the past.

Seasoned Syed Rahim Nabi came in for special praise from Wim Koevermans for his commitment, the overlapping runs and the important second goal for his team.

India now have six points from two matches, the final looks very likely from here on; but Koevermans knows that defeats against Nepal and Cameroon could still spoil everything that has been achieved in 180 minutes of football.

Therefore thinking from match to match is the right approach...

2012 Nehru Cup: Syria hold Cameroon to 2-2 draw

In the first surprise of the 2012 Nehru Cup the highly rated Cameroonians were held to a two-all draw by Syria in the third match of the tournament this evening at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi. With this draw both sides are now on one point though Syria has played a match more, their opening day loss to India.

The Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium sported once more heavy underfoot conditions, which caused more problems for the Africans then the west Asians who had the experience of the match against India under their belt.

Still Cameroon were the better side in the initial exchanges and took a deserving 17th lead when Kingue Mpondo's powerful header went in following a corner after Syria's experienced keeper Mosab Balhous made an excellent save and cleared for a corner following a free-kick from Ebanga Bertin. Though the Africans looked more polished in their game it was Syria who were fighting to stay in the match and then in the 40th minute Alaa Al Shbli headed in a free-kick like he did in the opener against India.

Cameroon will surely not have been happy with the one-all scoreline at the breather and seven minutes into the second half were ahead again through a Ebanga Martin penalty after Kologny Vigny Merime was brought down by Mosab Balhous in the area. But on this way Syria was not beaten as the west Asians took charge of the game and tried to get the equaliser. They got their reward in the 79th minute when Ouday Abduljaffal equalised and it would stay this way until the end.

A surprise result then most would have expected this Cameroon team made-up of only local players to beat the Syrians. This opens-up the group and now makes it more interesting over the next week.

Photos - Nehru Cup: India vs Syria

ndia started their 2012 Nehru Cup campaign with a 2-1 victory against Syria at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium last night. Here some photos from the match and in the dressing room...

Team India: Baichung visits dressing room, Koevermans' Thank you!

India started their 2012 Nehru Cup campaign with a 2-1 victory against Syria at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium last night. Post-match the squad received a visitor in the dressing room, who as recently as January 2012 in his farewell match against Bayern Munich had led Team India onto the field - Baichung Bhutia.

Still it is an unfamiliar sight to see Team India play and Baichung Bhutia sitting in the VVIP gallery in a formal suit instead of being on the field with his football gear, but time moves on and a new Team India is currently in the making without Baichung, Mahesh, Deepak, Samir, Climax, Renedy and many more...

Baichung after the match took the stairs down to the dressing room to congratulate Sunil Chhetri and his team. The ice-bath was on by then; some hadn't even freshened themselves up. Caring little for his formal suit, Baichung embraced all one by one. The gesture touched everyone. After all, that's what separates the man from others. Bhai is still a player at heart.

The second gentleman was also in a formal suit, but on Wednesday, Wim Koevermans stepped into the Team India Dressing Room for the first time ahead of an official match. Post-match Koevermans is no more the visitor but an integral part of the Dressing Room. In fact, he is the 'Dressing Room'.

With Syria conquered almost an hour back, the ice bath completed, the post-match press conference done and even the customary prayer, Wim Koevermans took a forward step. "Before we leave, I want to say something to you all," Koevermans uttered. The boys looked up.

Three seconds of pin drop silence. "Thank You!" Koevermans broke it. The clapping was spontaneous and loud. It had to be. The boys left the dressing room and walked towards the Team Bus – an old path but a new walk.

Many new faces, a new coach stressing on a new style which promises much and a strong camaraderie among all – this is a new-age Indian Football Team.

Back at the Dressing Room, Baichung and Koevermans had shook hands – both appreciated the other. "I'm proud of my boys. They adjusted fast and implemented the strategies on the field," Koevermans maintained. "It's hard to pick up any single individual as far as the Syria match is concerned. It was a team effort."

'Team Effort' stays the buzz in the Camp. "When you win, you cannot bask in the glory for long. In the same manner, when you have a bad Tournament, you ought to forget it fast and move on. Under Wim's guidance, we are taking that forward step," Captain Sunil Chhetri informs.

The broad grin on Wim Koevermans becomes broader. A visitor till the other day, the Dutch is at present the Indian 'Dressing Room'. The players are looking looking up to him with expectations.

A new chapter in Indian football was started yesterday and one hopes for many more such memorable evenings to come...

2012 Nehru Cup: India start with 2-1 win against Syria

The 2012 edition of the Nehru Cup got off to a perfect start for the hosts and defending champions India with a 2-1 victory against old rivals Syria at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, New Delhi. These three points could be crucial for India to reach the finals on September 2.

Syria has been a tough rival for India in the Nehru Cup over the last couple of editions. India lost against them in the group stage in 2007 and 2009 but then went on to beat them in the 2007 and 2009 finals. This time around India made a positive start against Syria in the group stage.

But it was a tough start for India as well as for Syria, who both featured new-look sides in this tournament opener. It was a slow start by both sides, who needed time to settle down and Syria seemed to cope better with the detoriating ground conditions with the Indian defence especially Raju Gaikwad having its problems but Subrata Pal stood tall. Delhi has been experiencing seasonal monsoon rains and during the match it got heavier and heavier resulting in the referee Vladislav Tseytlin from Uzbekistan haulting proceedings after only 34 minutes with play not possible.

After the forced break Syria came out realising that the high and long ball was more effective on a ground which was rather stopping the ball then allowing it to move. But in injury-time against the run of play India took the lead when Clifford Miranda played a perfect cross from the left which was headed in by a free Sunil Chhetri to give India the lead.

After the break the difficult ground conditions continued for both sides though the organisers tried their best to drain out the water, but Syria seemed to have lost their purpose though they had some chances while India was playing better as a team. Subrata Pal had to come to India's rescue on a few occasions, but he had a strong game in his comeback match.

India sealed the victory in the 84th minute when substitute Anthony Pereira, who came on for debutant Sanju Pradhan, curled the ball into the far corner of the net from just outside box following a pass from Francis Fernandes. Syria was only able to reduce the deficit in injury time through an Alaa Al Shbli header off a free-kick which caught the Indian defence napping.

After the match Sunil Chhetri was declared 'Man of the Match'.

The 2-1 win was a perfect start for Wim Koevermans though the Dutchman will have seen that a lot of works remains with Team India to get the best out of the team and also find the right combination and formation.


MATCH STATS

India 2-1 (1-0) Syria - Goals: 1-0 Sunil Chhetri (45+2'), 2-0 Anthony Pereira (84'), 2-1 Alaa Al Shbli (90+1')

India
1-Subrata Pal - 4-Nirmal Chetri, 3-Raju Gaikwad, 19-Gouramangi Moirangthem Singh, 22-Syed Rahim Nabi - 8-Sanju Pradhan (70' 14-Anthony Pereira), 20-Mehtab Hussain, 6-Lenny Rodrigues, 15-Clifford Miranda - 26-Francis Fernandes - 11-Sunil Chhetri [C]

Syria
25-Taha Mosa - 15-Alaa Al Shbli, 2-Ahmed Al Salih, 4-Jehad Al Baour, 3-Mohamad Zbida - 18-Ali Ghalioum, 8-Mohamad Afa Al Rifal (46' 12-Zakaria Al Omani), 10-Zaher Midani, 11-Oday Jafal - 9-Mardik Mardikian (64' 17-Hamoud Al Hamoud), 20-Hani Al Taiar

Referee
Vladislav Tseytlin (Uzbekistan)

VIDEO - 2009 Nehru Cup: Renedy Singh's free-kick goal

The 2012 Nehru Cup is set to kick-off later today, but here my personal highlight from the 2009 Nehru Cup, the brilliant free-kick goal from my friend Renedy Singh in extra-time of the final against Syria. It didn't win us the match, but still a highlight from the last edition, may this inspire the new generation Team India...

India take on Syria in 2012 Nehru Cup Opener

The 2012 edition of the Nehru Cup is set to kick-off tomorrow evening with hosts and defending champions India taking on old foes Syria at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, New Delhi. The kick-off is slated for 19.00 IST.

The tournament starts a new timeline for Team India under Dutchman Wim Koevermans for whom the Nehru Cup will be the first test with his new team and a new system for the boys, 4-4-1-1 with possession and pass football but no wonders are expected after a few weeks of training.

National Coach Wim Koevermans smiles. "The sport is all about the ball. You keep possession, you stay in control. You lose possession, you need to gain it back fast so that you stay in control," he utters. The practice sessions have been enough testimony to that with 'pass, pass, pass' the new mantra.

"But you need to be patient," quips captain Sunil Chhetri. "In every sphere of life, you ought to be. Adaptation to the new style under a new Coach needs patience. Just because of the new setup, you can't expect miracles."

Syria have been studied but as Koevermans insists, videos are never the true reflection of any team. "When you study a team via a video, it doesn't give you an impression of their off the ball movements," Wim right assesses though interestingöly this is the first time any Indian National Team has the luxury of a video analyst.

"Syria are one of the best teams in Asia," Chhetri continues. "Just because we beat them in the last two editions of the Nehru cup doesn't mean the trend will continue. But we want it to."

Questions keep flowing at the pre-match Press Conference. "I urge all the fans to be behind us when we take the field at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium," Sunil says in Hindi. Realising it was all Latin for Koevermans who was sitting next, he turned to him and apologised. "Carry on. I understand what you say," the Coach quipped as everyone burst into laughter.

The mood within Team India is good, now a positive start into the Nehru Cup needs to follow though one should not forget that India lost against Syria in the Nehru Cup group stage in 2007 and 2009 before winning both the finals.

The match will kick-off at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium at 19.00 IST with Neo Prime showing the match live and exclusive.

2012 Nehru Cup: Match Tickets on Sale online!

Tickets for the 2012 Nehru Cup in which hosts and defending champions India take on Cameroon, Syria, the Maldives and Nepal which will be played from Wednesday, August 22 to Sunday, September 2 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi are being sold online on the Kyazoonga platform.

Here the complete: 2012 Nehru Cup - Fixtures: India open against Syria

The tickets are being sold in two categories of prices of Rs 75 and 150. The Rs 75 tickets are for the North & South block behind the goals as well as the East block opposite the Main Stand. The Rs 150 tickets are for the West blocks' A8 to A11, which is next to the VIP stand.

As per the tickets being sold online only the lower tier of the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium will be used for the 2012 Nehru Cup and the upper tier will only be opened if there is a need and demand for further tickets.

Here the direct link to the online ticket sales: http://www.kyazoonga.com/Sports/Nehru_Cup/412/4 .

Neo Sports to broadcast 2012 Nehru Cup

Sports broadcaster Neo Sports has acquired the exclusive rights to show the 2012 Nehru Cup live from New Delhi. Neo will be showing the 11 match tournament on its new Neo Prime channel, the former Neo Cricket which it rebranded after losing the BCCI cricket rights.

The 2007 and 2009 editions of the Nehru Cup were shown on Zee Sports (now TenAction+), which team India had both won and on both occasions against Syria, whom they meet in the tournament opener on August 22. The Nehru Cup had been first held in 1982 as India's own international football tournament and has special significance as the AIFF is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year.

The 2012 Nehru Cup will be played from August 22 to September 2 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium with all matches set for a 19.00 IST kick-off. Besides hosts and double defending champions India, the tournament would see African side Cameroon, Syria, the Maldives and Nepal in action. In the round robin group stage all five teams will play each other once and the top two sides will meet each other again in the final.

Prasana Krishnan, Neo Sports Broadcast COO, said, "Neo Sports has added yet another key event to our extensive football line up with Nehru Cup. TV ratings for football in India are growing exponentially, evident with the success of Uefa Euro 2012 on Neo Prime. With Nehru Cup being India’s only international football tournament, it is sure to garner high viewership. We look forward to serving Indian football fans with top class coverage of this celebrated event."

Ashu Jindal, IMG-Reliance COO, said, "With 2012 being the Platinum Jubilee of the AIFF and India returning as defending champions, we are extremely pleased to partner with Neo Sports for the broadcast of this historic edition of the Nehru Cup. This is a key tournament in our vision to radically restructure and popularize football in India. With double the prize money and an extensive production plan, the event will be bigger and grander."

2012 Nehru Cup - Fixtures: India open against Syria

The 2012 edition of the Nehru Cup will be played from August 22 to September 2 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi. Besides host and defending champions India the other four participating nations are Cameroon, Syria, the Maldives and Nepal.

India have been drawn to play old nemesis Syria in the opening match of the 2012 Nehru Cup on August 22. India had won the last two editions of the Nehru Cup in 2007 and 2009 by beating Syria in the final on both occasions.

Each Team will play each other once in the Round Robin League matches with the top two, the Group Winners and the Group Runners-up advancing to the final which will be played on September 2.

The Indian squad is presently undergoing their preparatory camp at the KSFA Stadium in Bangalore and is likely relocate to Jaypee Greens in Greater Noida in mid-August.

The matches will kick-off at 19.00 IST.


FIXTURES

Round Robin League
22-Aug-2012: INDIA - Syria
23-Aug-2012: Maldives - Nepal
24-Aug-2012: Syria - Cameroon
25-Aug-2012: INDIA - Maldives
26-Aug-2012: Nepal - Cameroon
27-Aug-2012: Maldives - Syria
28-Aug-2012: INDIA - Nepal
29-Aug-2012: Cameroon - Maldives
30-Aug-2012: Syria - Nepal
31-Aug-2012: INDIA - Cameroon

Final
02-Sep-2012: Round Robin Winners - Round Robin Runners

2012 Nehru Cup: Is African nation Kenya sure to come?

The 2012 edition of the Nehru Cup is set to be a five nation affair with African sides Cameroon and Kenya plus Asian nations Syria and the Maldives besides hosts India set to take part. The tournament will kick-off on August 22 in New Delhi, but the All India Football Federation has still not confirmed the final line-up of nations to play in the tournament.

There have been confirmations from the Maldives (Football Association of Maldives) and Syria (Syrian Football Association) that their nations will participate in the tournament, while goal.com reported earlier in the day that Cameroon has confirmed their participation with a squad made-up of players from the local Cameroonian league.

But now the AIFF could face problems with the other African participant Kenya. It was clear from the onset that Kenya star Victor Mugabe Wanyama from Celtic Glasgow would not play in the tournament like other of their Europe-based players, but now there is a match which Kenya is supposed to play against Jamaica on August 25 in East Rutherford, New Jersey in the US.

The official Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) Twitter account tweeted yesterday: August 25 - Jamaica vs Kenya @ East Rutherford CT

The August 25 date, which is also in the FIFA match calendar, would mean that Kenya would have an official international friendly during the Nehru Cup and if Kenya is considering of having two teams playing the Nehru Cup and the Jamaica friendly then surely the weaker side would be send to India, maybe the Kenya Football Federation is even thinking about sending a junior team.

Earlier Jordan had made a similar offer to send their Under-19 side, which the AIFF correctly turned down. I guess the AIFF need to communicate with Kenya to find out what they are thinking.

All this sounds similar to what happened in earlier editions of the Nehru Cup.

2012 Nehru Cup: Which nations will participate?

The 2012 edition of the Nehru Cup will kick-off in less then a month's time in New Delhi, but the All India Football Federation has still not named the final line-up of nations to play in the tournament.

One thing is clear that the tournament will be a five nation affair and hosts India will be one of the participating teams. According to sources the AIFF have finalised the four other nations which would be Cameroon, Kenya, Syria and the Maldives with the names of the nations to be made public in the coming days.

Originally 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, other African nations in Cameroon, Senegal and Kenya were approached with Kenya accepting the invitation quickly while Cameroon took its time to give a positive feedback.

Meanwhile within Asia the nations of Afghanistan, Jordan, Maldives, the Philippines, Syria and Thailand were approached with Jordan, Maldives, the Philippines and Syria all willing to participate. The AIFF then had to decide which two Asian nations it wanted in the tournament. By then the Philippines backed out, so it was Syria and the Maldives in the end.

Surely Syria were opponents of India in 2007 and 2009 finals, but the question remains if the west Asians would be appropriate to have in the tournament with all those political problems in their country.

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 Under-16 Championships: Tough draw for India

The draw for the final round of the AFC Under-16 Championship was held today in the Iranian capital Tehran, which is set to host the tournament from September 22 to October 6, 2012. The India Under-16 boys have been drawn in tough Group D alongside Uzbekistan, Syria and China.

After the group stages which will be played September 22-27, the top two teams from each group (eight teams in total) will qualify for the knockout stages, the quarterfinals (September 30) and then the semifinals (October 3) with the winners advancing to the final (October 6).

The India Under-16 boys had qualified as the second-placed team from a complicated qualifying Group C in Tashkent having beaten Tajikistan, Bahrain and Kyrgyzstan; but having suffered a 0-9 loss against the hosts Uzbekistan.

After qualification coach Thomas Joseph had said, "Everyone has made a sacrifice – right from the boys to the team management. All have been away from their families for long. Hence, the satisfaction level stays higher."


GROUP

Group A: Iran, Kuwait, Yemen, Laos
Group B: Australia, Iraq, Oman, Thailand
Group C: North Korea, Japan, Saudi Arabia, South Korea
Group D: Uzbekistan, Syria, China, India

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.