New Delhi: India is likely to play in the CAFA Nations Cup scheduled to be held in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan from August 28 to September 8, after the Central Asian Football Association invited the country to take part in the tournament as replacement for Malaysia.
Malaysia, one of the two invitees in the eight-team tournament, pulled out on July 15, citing problems with logistics and player availability as the event does not strictly fall in the FIFA international window, which is September 1-9.
Oman is the other invitee country for the second edition of the tournament. Iran won the first edition in 2023.
It is learnt that the All India Football Federation (AIFF) has accepted the invitation though a final confirmation is yet to come from the organisers.
“It’s not confirmed yet, but we are waiting,” a top AIFF official told PTI.
If India is confirmed for the tournament, it will be the first assignment for the new head coach, to be appointed by the AIFF executive committee on August 1.
The CAFA countries — Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan — are the six other participating teams.
If confirmed, India will be in Group B along with Iran, Afghanistan and Tajikistan. India will play their first match against Tajikistan in Hisor, near Dushanbe, before taking on Iran (September 1) and Afghanistan (September 4) at the same venue.
Matches of Group A, which will have the remaining four teams, will be played in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
The two group winners will play in the final on September 8 in Tashkent while the two group runners-up teams will face in the third-place match the same day in Hisor.
