Constantine’s boys to travel to Australia on August 17

NEW DELHI: A 22-member Indian football team squad will travel to Australia on August 17, as part of their preparation for the forthcoming SAFF Cup.

The squad has been camping in Delhi since July 28.

The Indian U-23 squad will be based at the Valentine Sports Park in Sydney for a 16-day long preparatory camp before they leave for Dhaka on September 1. “The exposure trip was planned before the Asian Games but unfortunately, we were barred from taking part in the Games. We didn’t see any reason to cancel the trip and had to postpone it prior to the SAFF tournament,” head coach Stephen Constantine said.

Apart from the 22 players, two have been kept in reserves and might get a call-up to join the contingent in Australia if circumstances demand so. 20 players will eventually travel for the SAFF Suzuki Cup. Constantine also thanked the clubs for releasing the players from their club commitments giving the national duty more priority. “I would like to express my gratitude to the clubs for letting the players join the more-than-amonth long national team camp. We need such support from them until the AFC Asian Cup 2019. It’s good for the country as well as the clubs. I appreciate that,” he added. “Although we didn’t qualify for the AFC U-23 Championship, these boys showed good signs in Qatar last year. A few new boys have come and they’re putting in an effort to integrate with the other boys.”

“It’s a group of talented youngsters and I believe a good number of players will graduate to the senior team in time,” he said. “I take it as a challenge for us. If the senior boys compete in the SAFF tournament, these young boys won’t get the opportunity to play anytime soon.”