Story ProgressBack to home
AFC Youth Cup: AIFF chief spurs Indian team
All India Football Federation (AIFF) President P R Dasmunshi has said he would be happy if India made it to the quarterfinal round of the AFC Youth Cup.
- Indo-Asian News Service
- Updated: February 25, 2007 10:37 AM IST
Read Time:2 min
Kolkata:
All India Football Federation (AIFF) President P R Dasmunshi has said he would be happy if India made it to the quarterfinal round of the AFC Youth Championship. "I will feel they have performed satisfactorily if India remains among the first eight of the Youth Championship," Dasmunshi told newsmen in Kolkata. "However, if we reach the semi-finals, it will be a great achievement for India as some of the performing teams are very good," he said. The AFC Championship is to be held in Kolkata and at Bangalore from October 29. The AIFF chief said India had been joint champions with Iran in 1974 and had been runners-up once after that in the Youth championship but since then "we could not maintain the standard." Dasmunshi, who is also the I&B Minister, expressed hope that if the AFC Youth Cup is organised without any hitch, then India can be in a position to bid for holding the Asia Cup tournament to be held after 2007. Dasmunshi said he has invited the West Bengal chief minister Buddhadev Bhattacharjee to inaugurate the tournament. He expressed satisfaction with the security arrangements for the foreign teams and preparations at the Salt Lake and Howrah stadiums. He said holding of the tournament would popularise it among the younger generation and act as an encouragement for the youths in India to take up football. The 16-team tournament would be held from October 29 and the final will be on November 12. (PTI)Topics mentioned in this article
BCCI Football
Get the Latest IPL 2024 Updates, check out IPL 2024 schedules and IPL points table at NDTV Sports.Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for more sports updates. You can also download the NDTV Cricket app for Android or iOS.