The 10th edition of West Asian Football Federation Championship will be held in the United Arab Emirates soon. The tournament will feature plenty of Asian powerhouses namely Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, United Arab Emirates and Yemen.
According to sources, India and Thailand have also been invited to participate in the competition.
This is a great opportunity for the Indian National Football Team to gear themselves up against highly ranked nations and gain some worthy experience. The initial plan was to host a couple of friendlies in India from March 20 - 28 but due to India's low FIFA ranking, the idea was dissolved. However, Igor Stimac might not get all of his players' services as the Indian Super League(ISL) will be on it's closing stages from early to mid March.
An AIFF official said, "The organisers have invited us to take part in the championship and we have already given our consent, We have been told that 12 teams will take part and they will be divided into three groups. India will have a minimum of three games".
The draw will be held on 26 January 2023 followed by the tournament, which will take place between 20 March - 2 April 2023.
by Arshan Ahmad Qaiser