FIFA Friendlies: Sunil Chhetri & Co to play international friendlies against Nepal ahead of SAFF Championship– The Indian football team is scheduled to play two International Friendlies in September. Nepal’s Football Association confirmed rumours about their matches against India with AIFF also posting an official confirmation through a statement on Friday.
AIFF also stated how they conducted talks with various football Football associations from Africa and Aisa over the possibility of playing international friendlies with their teams. However, India’s Football Federation could not find a viable candidate with quarantine restrictions across various countries acting as a major roadblock.
FIFA Friendlies: With most countries across Asia having strict quarantine rules amid the ongoing pandemic AIFF also asked around on playing teams from Aisa and Africa in Europe. However, the quarantine rules continued to play spoilsport for visiting teams coming from other countries.
FIFA Friendlies: Sunil Chhetri & Co to play international friendlies against Nepal ahead of SAFF Championship
Amid the current circumstances, Indian Football News revealed that AIFF could not plan an international friendly in India. That is because teams coming from various counties would have also been forced to undergo a mandated quarantine period.
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The quarantine period had to be served by anyone coming to the subcontinent and has been laid out based on guidelines put in place by the government of India. Undergoing the necessary manded quarantine meant no other team could visit India and play without going through quarantine protocols during the timeframe AIFF wanted.
FIFA Friendlies: Despite having talks with various FA’s, AIFF could materialize any concrete plans and struggled to find a team to play against. They were focused on getting the players some much-needed minutes between the “August 30-September 7, FIFA window.
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AIFF shared released a statement speaking about it, which reads as “The Nepal Football Association has offered AIFF an option of playing two Friendlies with the Indian Senior Men’s National Team in the above-mentioned window. The AIFF thanks the Nepal FA for the offer, and is in the process of finalizing the proposal from the Nepal FA with the Head Coach.”
FIFA Friendlies: Sunil Chhetri & Co to play international friendlies against Nepal ahead of SAFF Championship
FIFA Friendlies: The Friendlies could do wonders for the Indian team as they prepare for the upcoming SAFF tournament scheduled in October. AIFF will be happy to play against Nepal as there are no quarantine rules/ restrictions that Indian citizens need to undergo while visiting Nepal.
Reports suggest that the Indian football team will play the two friendly matches on September 2 and 5. The matches against Nepal’s national football team will be played in Dasharath Stadium.
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