By IANS
New Delhi : After a successful Nehru Cup, All-India Football Federation (AIFF) is all set to host the Asian Football Confederation’s (AFC) Asian Challenge Cup in 2008 and 2011, it was announced by AIFF president Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi after the Annual General Meeting (AGM) here Sunday.
The hosting of the event should help India to qualify for the 2011 Asian Cup finals in Doha, Qatar as they need to win any of the two tournaments.
“The AFC president has given us an opportunity to host the 2008 and the 2010 Asian Challenge Cup and we should utilise it and plan seriously for the contest so as to make bit jump in the Asian rankings,” said Dasmunsi.
South Korea, Turkmenistan, Myanmar and hosts India will get automatic byes into the final competition.
“The tournament was earlier scheduled for February, but has been pushed to August. We have decided two possible venues, Delhi and Hyderabad, but it will be finalized after the inspection by AFC officials in January,” said Dasmunsi.
India, ranked 143rd in the world, have also been given a bye into the second round of the Asian Cup.
“The seeding is not merely a recognition but a vote of confidence in the country’s football fraternity,” said Dasmunsi.
The AIFF president also said appropriate measures have been taken for youth development programmes and listed a couple of them.
“Very shortly we are signing a memorandum of understanding with a major corporate house for a football academy in Goa, while the Haryana Government in principle has agreed to provide land for a Football Academy in Gurgaon in cooperation with Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC),” he said.
The AIFF also decided to organise more tournaments for women. “From next year we are launching an under-21 zonal competition of Rani Jhansi Cup, where zonal champions will qualify for the inter-zonal championship.
“I have also asked the AIFF secretary to plan a Metro Cup for women in Kolkata, Mumbai, Delhi and Chennai,” said Dasmunsi.
The AIFF has also decided to give lifetime membership to former players Sailen Manna, P.K. Banerjee, Chuni Goswami, Syed Nayeemudin and former FIFA referee and Union Minister Santosh Mohan Dev. JCT striker Sunil Chettri was also named the Player of the Year.