Expensive Spain forces AIFF to choose Czech Republic for exposure tour

New Delhi: High training costs in Spain have prompted the All India Football Federation (AIFF) to settle for a less expensive Czech Republic for an exposure tour for the Under-23 men’s football team ahead of the Asian Games.

Chief coach Wim Koevermans wanted the team to train in Malaga, Spain, but after months of discussion, the AIFF Wednesday decided that it would be an expensive proposition. The team will now have two exposure trips to Czech Republic and China before they leave for the Asiad to be held at Incheon from Sep 19 to Oct 4.

A top AIFF official said Koevermans was not happy with the decision.

“Koevermans was not pleased with the decision but has accepted it. We also have to look at the costs. In Spain, we had to spend nearly $200 as daily allowances but in Czech Republic and China it will be $50 cheaper,” the official told IANS.

Thirty probables are currently training in Bangalore under Koevermans at a camp which started July 1. A 25-member squad will leave for Czech Republic July 21 and return Aug 8. There, India will play three matches against three clubs – Senco Doubravka, FK Most and TJ Domazlice.

The squad will then travel to China from Aug 25 to Sep 8 from where they will leave directly for South Korea. The team will play two matches in China against Shanghai FC and JiangSu.

“AIFF believes in providing the best of facilities to all teams and hence we have organised for back-to-back exposure tours for the India’s Asian Games squad for them to prepare in the best possible fashion,” AIFF general secretary Kushal Das said.

Koevermans stated it was important the boys “adapt playing against different styles”.

“The boys need to play against different styles, learn about strong opposition and build on from there,” he said.

Sunil Chhetri, Robin Singh and Francis Fernandes are the three senior players who have been named in the squad while the rest comprise of U-23 players.

The list of 30 probables:

Goalkeepers: Amrinder Singh, Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Ravi Kumar, Kamaljit Singh.

Defenders: Pritam Kotal, Keenan Almeida, Deepak Devrani, Joyner Lourenco, Shankar Sampingiraj, Sandesh Jhingan, Sanjay Balmuchu, Salam Singh, Narayan Das, Shouvik Ghosh.

Midfielders: Pronoy Halder, Rowlin Borges, Clifton Dias, Alwyn George, Siam Hangal, Lalrindika Ralte, Dhanpal Ganesh, Milan Singh.

Forwards: Francis Fernandes, Romeo Fernandez, Seiminlen Doungel, Sunil Chhetri, Robin Singh, Haokip Thongkoshim, Alesh Sawant, Mandar Rao Desai.

IANS