By Abhishek Roy, IANS
New Delhi : The stage is set for the 13th Nehru Cup with hosts India scheduled to take on Cambodia in Friday’s opening match at the refurbished Ambedkar Stadium here.
The tournament is specially important for the home side, ranked 162nd in the FIFA list, as they embark on an arduous climb up the international football ladder under the expert guidance British coach Bob Houghton.
“The World Cup qualifiers are scheduled after this meet and hopefully my boys will gain some fruitful experience out of this tournament,” said Houghton.
“India will face teams like Syria and Kyrgyzstan here. Syria is pretty similar to Lebanon, whom we would face in the first round of the qualifiers. In fact, Syria defeated Lebanon in June last year,” he added.
India travel to Lebanon Oct 8 and then host their opponents Oct 28 as per the draw for the Asian Football Confederation’s first qualifying rounds for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.
The Nehru Cup is meant to give the Indian team experience of playing against opponents close to their ranking. The All India Football Federation (AIFF) has done well to confirm teams like Syria (113th), Kyrgyzstan (152nd), Cambodia (170th) and Bangladesh (172nd) for the purpose.
Iran was also invited but insisted on sending a club team instead of the national squad. AIFF was left with little option but go ahead without them since the Nehru Cup has been recognised as a ranking tournament by the world body.
Teams play one another in a round-robin league and the top two clash in the Aug 29 final.
India has never figured in the Nehru Cup final in the previous 12 editions of the tournament but this time round captain Bhaichung Bhutia feels the home side has a realistic chance of ending the title drought.
“We are looking forward to winning this tournament and we have a realistic chance of doing so. But it would certainly be a tough task and we have to perform really well,” Bhutia said.
He added that the training stint in Portugal would stand in good stead for the Indian team.
“For every team it is necessary to have a good pre-season and this time it happened. Our trip to Portugal was a learning experience,” he said.
The total prize money of the tournament is $100,000 with the winners collecting $40,000, the runners-up $20,000 and the third placed team $10,000.
Teams also receive $2,500 for winning each match but drawn games will see no cash reward for either side. The man of the match gets $300.
Launched on Feb 16, 1982, the Nehru Cup was an annual event till 1989, but lack of funds made it a biennial event until 1997 when it was last played in Kochi.
It’s hardly surprising that India’s premier international football tournament was first played at a cricket stadium – Eden Gardens, Kolkata.
Fixtures:
Aug 17: India vs. Cambodia (6.30 p.m.)
Aug 18: Bangladesh vs. Syria (7 p.m.)
Aug 19: Kyrgyzstan vs. Cambodia (7 p.m.)
Aug 20: India vs. Bangladesh (7 p.m.)
Aug 21: Syria vs. Kyrgyzstan (7 p.m.)
Aug 22: Bangladesh vs. Cambodia (7 p.m.)
Aug 23: India vs. Syria (7 p.m.)
Aug 24: Bangladesh vs. Kyrgyzstan (7 p.m.)
Aug 25: Cambodia vs. Syria (7 p.m.)
Aug 26:India vs. Kyrgyzstan (7 p.m.)
Aug 29: Final (6 p.m.)