India plan ties against China, Saudi Arabia
The Indian football team is set to play international friendlies against higher-ranked Saudi Arabia and China in the run-up to the 2019 AFC Asian Cup, according to the All India Football Federation.
The event will be held from January 5 to February 1 across eight centres in four United Arab Emirates cities. India are clubbed with UAE, Thailand and Bahrain in Group A of the continental showpiece.
Talks with both the federations are in advanced stages, AIFF general secretary Kushal Das said.
ATK APPOINT COPPELL AS HEAD COACH
Englishman Steve Coppell was on Monday appointed as the head coach of two-time Indian Super League (ISL) champions ATK following their disappointing ninth place finish in the last edition of the tournament.
The former Kerala Blasters and Jamshedpur FC coach will succeed Teddy Sheringham, who was sacked midway into last season after a poor string of results, following which technical director Ashley Westwood temporarily managed the team without any success.
NORTH, SOUTH KOREA AGREE TO JOINT TEAMS
NEW DELHI:
The two Koreas agreed to march together under a unified peninsula flag and form combined teams to compete in the Asian Games, they said in a joint statement, in the latest sign of a thaw between the old rivals.
Both sides also agreed at a round of talks on their heavily fortified border to hold a basketball match in Pyongyang on July 4, marking the anniversary of an inter-Korean agreement on unification, they said.
KOLKATA: SEOUL: