India under-16 to play against Iraq, Japan

The Indian U-16 football team will be locking horns with defending AFC U-16 champions Iraq, Asian powerhouse Japan, hosts Jordan and Yemen in the 5th West Asian Football Federation (WAFF) U-16 Boys Championship slated to be held at the King Abdullah II International Stadium from August 1.

The exposure tour has been arranged by AIFF in co-ordination with the Sports Authority of India (SAI) with an aim to provide a “fool-proof ” preparation to the U-16 boys, who play in the AFC U-16 Championship Malaysia in September 2018.

The tournament in Jordan comes on the back of the team’s exposure tours to China, Thailand and Malaysia where the boys played six matches against U-16 National Teams and more against Club sides since July.

National Team Director Abhishek Yadav stated that the primary objective was the provide the team matches against sides who have qualified for the AFC U-16 Championship.

“The U16 WAFF Championship has teams, which have qualified for the 2018 AFC U-16 Championship. We are entering the last phase of preparation and one of our key targets since January was to give the coach an opportunity to play against teams, who have qualified for the 2018 Championship,” Yadav, a former national team striker, said.

“The significance of this tournament lies in the fact that it brings together teams qualified for the 2018 AFC U16 Championship, all in their last leg of preparations,” Yadav maintained.

“Our boys will get a chance to play Iraq, the U-16 defending champions. That doesn’t happen every day. On top of it, we will also be playing Japan, perhaps the best U-16 Team in Asia.”