International – Football News India

AFC Proposes New Dates for the Postponed World Cup Qualifiers

June 5, 2020 footballnewsindia Leave a comment

AFC, India, Football, Qatar, Afghanistan

Asian Football Confederation has proposed new dates for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and AFC Asian Cup China 2023 Asian Qualifiers that were supposed to take place in March and June 2020.

AFC was forced to postpone the qualifiers due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic across the world. Now that the world is limping back to normalcy, AFC has released the new dates for the qualifiers.

Matchdays 7 and 8 that were postponed will now take place on October 8 and 13 and Matchdays 9 and 10 will take place on November 12 and 17, 2020.

According to the latest schedule released by the AFC, the following are the match dates for India.

08 – October 2020 – India vs Qatar
12 – November 2020 – Bangladesh vs India
17 – November 2020 – India vs Afghanistan

India’s last world cup qualifier was played on 19 November 2019 against Oman in a away tie which they lost by 1-0. The home tie against Qatar which was supposed to take place on 26 – March -2020 was scheduled at the Kalinga stadium in Bhubaneswar. Now, with the rescheduled dates, we will have to wait for the All India Football Federation to announce the new venue.

The Asian Football Confederation press note regarding the proposed new dates have also mentioned that the AFC will continue to monitor COVID-19 situation in its respective member countries and will notify the member associations if there is a need to reassess the match schedules due to the ever-present COVID-19 threat. They have also mentioned that they have come out and announced these dates with a view to complete the Preliminary Joint Qualification Round 2 by November 2020.

With COVID-19 posing a considerable threat in India even today, it will have to be seen how the plans of AFC to conduct the World Cup/ Asian Cup qualifiers will pan out. We will keep you updated on the latest developments in the coming days/months.

Player Profile – Kyrgyz Republic National Football Team

March 23, 2018 footballnewsindia Leave a comment

Here is a no-frills Player Profile of the Kyrgyz Republic National Football Team by Raghav Sastry. Follow him on twitter – The Indian 420

(GK) Pavel Matiash (30) : Height – 197cm, Weight – 94kg

Has 25 National Team caps with an average of 84min / game

Leagues Played – Uzbekistani 1^st Div.; Malaysian 2^nd Div.; Maldives 1^st Div

(DF) Azamat Baimatov (28) ( captain ) : Height 188 cm, Weight – 79kg

Has 30 NT caps with 4 goals against Macau, Australia, Kazakhstan and Iran u-23

Leagues Played – Latvian 1^st Div.; Bahraini 1^st Div.; Indonesian 1^st Div.; Russian 2^nd Div.

(DF) Kursanbek Sheratov (28) : Height – 170cm, Weight – 65kg

17 NT caps with an average of 82 min/ game

Leagues Played – Kyrgyz 1^st Div.

(DF) Tamirlan Kozubaev (23)

Leagues Played – Lithuanian 1^st Div.; Serbian 1^st Div. where he played for a club which got relegated to 2^nd division in the season he played him

(DF) Aziz Sydykov (25) : Height – 170cm, Weight – 75kg

19 NT caps with an average of 64 min/ game

Leagues Played – Kyrgyz 1^st Div.

(MF) Edgar Bernhardt (31) : Height – 174cm, weight – 65kg

He has a German, Russian and a Kyrgyz Citizenship (did not know 3 were possible)

14 NT caps with an average of 82 min / game and a goal against Bangladesh

Leagues Played – German 1^st Div.; Netherlands 2^nd Div.; Finnish 1^st Div.; Polish 1^st Div.; Oman 1^st Div.

(MF) Furkhat Muzabekov (24): 9 caps in the u-21 team, 3 caps in the u-23 team and 13 caps for the Senior team.

Played in the Moldovan 1^st Div.; Crimean 1^st Division (Crimea was annexed by Russia and clubs in that region started playing in the Russian 3^rd Division. Ukraine protested as they claim that Crimea is part of their territory. So, the UEFA created a new league and clubs from Crimea are to play in the league. Most clubs from that region are Ukrainian with a small of fraction of them holding “Crimean FIFA nationality)

(MF) Akhmedov Murolimzhon (26) : Two u-23 appearances against Jordan and Iran

He was voted as the best player in the 2017 season of the Kyrgyzstan 1^st Div.

(MF) Pavel Sidorenko (30) : Height – 175cm, Weight 70kg

20 NT caps with an average of 62 min / game. He also scored a goal as part of the u-23 outfit against China u-23

Leagues played – Kyrgyz 1^st division

(MF) Anton Zemlianukhin (29) : Height – 175cm | Leagues played – Turkish 2^nd Division, Serbian 1^st Divion, Thai 1^st Scored 2 goals against Macau and 1 against Myanmar in the 2019 ACQ

(FWD) Bakhtiyar Duyshobekov (22) : 13 NT caps with 1 international goal against Tajikistan and 6 u-21 appearances with 1 goal

Leagues Played – Belarusian 1st Division, Turkish 4^th division

(FWD) Viktor Maier (27) : Played for the u-17 Germany team with 10 appearances and 13 Kyrgyz NT caps with an average of 84 min / game

Leagues Played – German 3^rd division, Dutch 2^nd Division

(FWD) Vitalij Lux (29) : Height – 183cm, Weight – 82kg | 14 NT caps with an average of 75 min / game with a goal against Macau.

Leagues Pleayed – Lower regional German divisions and German 3^rd Division

(FWD) Mirlan Murzaev (27) : He has a goal against Sri Lanka, Macau, India and Kazakhstan, 28 NT caps with an average of 60 min/ game

(DF) Valleri Kichin (25) : Kyrgyz player of Russian descent

He has played in the Russian 1^st Division and Kyrgyz 1^st division and currently plays for a club in the Russian 2^nd division

(MF) Akhlidin Israilov (23) : Height – 180cm, Weeight – 65kg

He has played in the I- League with NEROCA FC and has played in the Indonesian 1^st Division and Ukrainian 1^st Division.

He has ten u-21 appearances with 1 gaol and 12 senior team caps with 2 goals

Tata Trusts U Dream Football announces its partnership with Borussia Dortmund

May 11, 2017 footballnewsindia Leave a comment

Mumbai, 11^th May 2017: Tata Trusts U Dream Football today announced its ‘Technical’ partnership with Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund. The partnership with Borussia Dortmund, one of Germany’s most successful clubs, serial winners in both Germany and Europe will, enhance the quality of the Tata Trusts U Dream Football training programme.

In a first-of-its-kind initiative, the partnership will give the young footballers enrolled in the programme an opportunity to be trained by the Bundesliga side’s Youth Coaches, as also draw from the club’s world class training facilities.

Known widely for their youth development system, Borussia Dortmund has on its roster, top German stars like the current club captain Marcel Schmelzer, his deputy Marco Reus; world-cup winner Mario Gotze; and Christian Pulisic, one of the club’s young stars.

The teams under Tata Trusts U Dream Football program will train with Borussia Dortmund’s youth teams. The aim is to plan competitive games against each other, which will play a key role in the development of the children.

While the young aspirants are training to become top class footballers, they will also get their first taste of professional European football by watching Borussia Dortmund play live from the ‘Yellow Wall’, the largest free-standing grandstand in Europe with a capacity of 25,000. Known for its exhilarating atmosphere, watching a live Bundesliga game from the ‘Yellow Wall’ will certainly be an inspiring experience for the young footballers.

In 2016, Tata Trusts and U Dream Football partnered to use football as a tool for social development in India. The efforts took root in the North East, the region that contributes nearly 50% footballers to both the men and women’s national teams. 35 of North East India’s best young players were selected and began their training programme in January 2017. Now known as the Tata Trusts U Dream Football, the training programme is based in Bitburg, Germany, where the selected talents spend 10 months of the year training under a team of ranked coaches. Each week, the U15 and U17 sides play competitive games against top-ranked youth sides in the region as well as those in Belgium and Luxembourg. This year, both teams combined have played 20 games, winning 15 and losing only 3 games.

“Tata Trusts has a legacy of supporting various sports events and activities since its existence in 1892.” said R Venkatramanan, Managing Trustee Tata Trusts, “Sports has the potential of developing traits such as leadership, learning, sharing, and caring and of course the will to win.Sport is indeed a wonderful unified force to drive social programmes and change. Tata Trusts is privileged to collaborate with U Dream Football and Borsussia Dortmund in this developmental endeavor. Initiative such as these make us proud and encourage us to contribute every day.”

Speaking at the event Ronnie Screwvala, Founder of U Sports said, “Today we reiterate our strong association with Borsussia Dortmund at the grassroot level but also about an overall commitment made by Tata Trusts and U Dream Football for basic football development in the country. We found an incredible partner in Tata Trusts which always thinks scale. U Dream appreciates their quick and unrelenting support to our aim of grooming children in football. Our two focus areas are to position sport as a great career option and make India one of the top 20 football-playing countries in the world.”

Christian Diercks, Lead-Youth Programmes, Dortmund BVB, said, “While the children are motivated to take up football, they are also extensively trained in the German schooling system, which gives them a chance to enhance their education and fulfill a realistic dream. There are also plans of bringing in Indian coaches to Dortmund, which is an intense football capital of the world and give them a chance to meet specialists in their field and exchange ideas on football training. I am happy to have this wonderful opportunity of supporting this endeavor in bringing about a long-term development of young kids.”

In addition to football training, the programme also offers academics and languages, laying focus on the holistic development of each child. Enrolled in Germany’s premier international school, they will pursue their academics under an international school board.

With 48 players currently enrolled in the programme, partnering with Borussia Dortmund will aid development of all those under the programme, as the club will provide constant support and directional guidance. Bundesliga clubs typically incubate between 200-300 players in their development programmes and thus it offers these players an opportunity to join Bundesliga sides as well. The goal of the programme is to ensure that

all enrolled players play professional football, by placing them in clubs across Europe, North America and Asia, including India. As the players’ development progresses, Tata Trusts U Dream Football will provide footballers with opportunities for a trial with leading clubs across Europe.

Why the revamped AFC Cup format is a raw deal for India

December 16, 2016 footballnewsindia Leave a comment

Guru Prasad, a football enthusiast from Bengaluru takes a closer look at the new format of AFC Cup.

You can follow him on twitter here.

When AFC came out with a new format for the AFC Cup, there were some reports in the media about how the revamped format will be beneficial for Indian clubs participating in the continental championship. However, a closer look at the revamped format reveals that instead of it being beneficial for our clubs, it could turn out to be detrimental for them and in turn it could also take a hit on the member association (MA rankings) for India. MA rankings are used by AFC to determine the number of slots a country gets in the continental championships, the AFC Cup and the AFC Champions league.

First let us take a look at the new format. Starting from 2017, instead of the two zones, clubs are going to be divided into five zones – West Asia, Central Asia, South Asia, East Asia and ASEAN. A total of 36 clubs will be competing from these zones. Each zones are allocated teams through direct slots and through play offs. Slot allocation for the five zones are as follows:

West Asia Zone : 9 direct/3 from play-offs = 12 teams (Three groups)

ASEAN Zone : 9 direct/3 from play-offs = 12 teams (Three groups)

Central Asia Zone : 3 direct/1 from play-offs = 4 teams (One group)

East Asia Zone : 3 direct/1 from play-offs = 4 teams (One group)

South Asia Zone : 3 direct/1 from play-offs = 4 teams (One group)

As you can see all South Asian teams comes under one group. That means, Bengaluru FC (should they drop-down to AFC Cup without reaching the group stages of AFC Champions League), will be joined by Maziya from Maldives and Abhani Limited of Bangladesh. The fourth spot in the group will be taken by the winners of the play-off round in South Asia.

This is how the play off round for the south Asia looks like :

Federation Cup winners Mohun Bagan will have to play two matches against South Asian teams to even reach the group stage of the competition (No MA points are accrued for prelims and Play-off matches). Now, compare this with the AFC Cup format of 2016, where both teams from India – Mohun Bagan and Bengaluru FC were placed in two different groups (Group G & H)and had a chance to go further in the competition. Whereas in 2017 they will be fighting with each other in the same group, if Bagan qualify for the group stages. And only one team, that is either Bengaluru FC or Mohun Bagan will be progressing to the further stages of the competition.

Now take a look at the West Asian Zone, they have 3 groups in the zone and the teams are dispersed in these groups. For example, Air Force Club of Iraq who were the 2016 AFC Cup champions after defeating Bengaluru FC is placed in Group B of West Zone and Al Zawraa another club from Iraq is placed in Group A, offering the two teams a chance to progress further in the tournament. ASEAN zone is another one with an unfair advantage over others. ASEAN zone has 3 groups and teams from these countries are dispersed among these groups. AFC cup 2016 semi finalists Johor Darul Ta’zim is in Group F of the competition, whereas another Malaysian team Felda United is placed in Group G. The only thing good coming out of this format revamp is that there will be representation from more countries in AFC Cup and probably lesser miles traveled by teams to play the away matches.

The MA ranking conundrum

With the new format in place, the MA rankings of India could take hit too. Lets us take a look.

if 2 or more teams participate from the same MA, then their points get averaged out and if one team is good but others are not good, then the points gained by MA is not good (e.g. For Malaysia, last year where JDT reached semifinal, but other team crashed out of group stage taking their points gained only to 7.167), this is a shortcoming in AFC’s points calculation mechanism. And it gives advantage to the MA from where only one team is participating and if the participating team performs well in the competition, then MA points gained will be very good. Where as for MAs with more teams, this method proves to be disadvantageous. Because, if MAs with one or more teams participating, then all the teams must perform very well to gain more points, like the case with India last year).

But this year’s format of AFC Cup has aggravated the situation for top MAs in south, central and East zone (with India and Tajikistan being the biggest losers), as one team from one MA will not advance out of group stage, hence points gained will be low for an MA with 2 teams. In addition, AFC cup points only account for 1/3rd that of ACL games. This means India is the biggest loser in this case (If BFC doesn’t go to the group stage of ACL and perform well there) there will be no chance for India to break in to the Top 6 MAs in the region before 2017 November whose rankings will be counted for slot allocations of 2019 and 2020. So, AFC is trying to preserve status quo in ACL slot allocations and West and ASEAN zone in AFC cup and prevent new MAs being represented in ACL. Although not apparent unless you read between the lines and dig deeper on the new format. As per the new format, as a country it is advantageous for us only if one club makes it to the group stage of the tournament. If two of them make it to the group stage, it would be detrimental for our MA rankings. A real catch-22 situation for us!

Also noticeable is that ASEAN and West Asian teams that qualify for further stages play 4 and 2 more games respectively than the rest, if the points accrued in these extra matches also count (zonal Semifinals and zonal finals) then all the other zones are at a serious disadvantage.

This is where it gets utterly tricky for India, if Bengaluru FC doesn’t qualify for ACL and at least doesn’t get till Quarterfinals (pray to god for some miracle!!), then the next window of opportunity for substantial increase in MA rankings and better slot allocation comes only in 2020 whose ranking will probably be counted for 2021 allocations and there is a plan to count only club performance for that, at the moment we can’t say for sure if that it will be beneficial to India as there are countries where National team is below par, but clubs do extremely well.

Status Quoist AFC?

Its looks like AFC isn’t an exception in trying to maintain status quo, there are many world sporting bodies like UEFA (who are trying to change UCL structure to give unusual preference to top MAs), ICC (The Big three control the revenue and administration preventing smaller cricketing nations a greater share of revenue and associate nations with remote chance of playing test matches)etc, and Indian football in tatters due to ongoing restructuring and shutting shops of old clubs also doesn’t help. And AFC being status quoist that it is, Clubs can’t expect too much help from them in the current crisis.

On the whole, the revamped format of the AFC Cup along with the current method of MA ranking calculation, it is quite obvious that India has got a raw deal with the recent format revamp of the AFC Cup. Despite all the challenges our clubs have been facing on the domestic front, performances on the continental level in the AFC Cup has been quite decent from our clubs. This revamp of the competition format is going to cripple our progress in terms of MA rankings and our quest for a direct slot in the AFC champions League. Although Some may say It is too soon to dream about direct slot in ACL, we never know until we are tested rigorously and only then do we have a chance to Improve ourselves.

AFC Cup 2016 Final – Know thy opponent : Through the words of an Iraqi Football expert

November 5, 2016 footballnewsindia Leave a comment

The big day is here. It is a momentous occasion for Indian Football as Bengaluru FC takes on Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya or the Air Force Club of Iraq as they are known in the AFC Cup 2016 final. Since there was a dearth of information on today’s opponent, I decided to get in touch with an Iraqi football expert to know more about Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya. I asked a few questions to football writer Hassanin Mubarak and here are his replies. Read on!

What’s is Air Force Club’s style of play?

Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya are an attacking side playing two forward up-front, with Hamadi Ahmed and the returning Amjad Radhi, one of the most prolific strikers in the Iraqi league in current times who is attempting to regain his old form. The little and large combination of Hamadi and Amjad were once the best two front-pairing in Iraq until Amjad left for Arbil in 2010. The striker wearing the No.40 for Al-Jawiya was top scorer in this tournament in 2012 with 9 goals. Amjad has spent the last couple of seasons in Saudi Arabia and Egypt without much success and while he was Al-Jawiya’s main forward during his last spell at the club, Hamadi has now taken on that mantle with Amjad being the second striker. Basim Qasim also has Emad Muhsin if needed. Al-Jawiya’s goals will depend a lot on the ability of the wide-men to create in the final third, the hopes of victory will rest heavily on the shoulders of Humam Tariq and 15-goal hit man Hamadi Ahmed.

Their Strong points and weakness according to you?

Al-Jawiya relies a great deal on the presence of Hamadi Ahmed, their main goalscorer and attacking threat. The new coach Basim Qasim appointed in the summer has not changed either the style or team formation since taking charge, however, they have proved to be resilient under the former Police Lieutenant and are unbeaten in the first six games under him. Basim Qasim will, however, have to reshuffle the ranks with the absence of center back Samal Saeed and winger Bashar Resan, two key players who will be suspended for the final. Bashar will be a significant loss, with the team balance on the wings with Humam Tariq on the opposite flank interrupted, with both players having the talent to switch flanks throughout matches. While Basim Qasim has a ready-made replacement for Samal Saeed, in Saad Natiq, however the coach does not have that luxury with a replacement for Bashar. One solution would be to start Hulgard Mulla Mohammed, the brother of the retired wing wizard Hawar. He is a different proposition for defenders compared to the pacy and tricky Bashar Resan. Hulgard does not possess the speed he once had but the versatile two-footed attacking midfielder can play on the wings or in central midfield. But the absence of Bashar will be a substantial miss for Al-Jawiya.

Are they going to play the same way in the final or are you expecting a cagey game from them? Who are all the players to watch out?

I expect Al-Jawiya will play their usual game in Doha and go out and score goals. It could be a cagey and cautious final if the game remains goalless. The key players will be Humam Tariq out on the wings and Hamadi Ahmed, they could be the winning formula for Al-Jawiya.

Are you expecting to see a lot of fans in Doha supporting the Air Force club?

There won’t be many Iraqi fans traveling and a majority of the supporting contingent will be expatriates living in the tiny Gulf state.

What’s the talk among the Iraqi football fans about Bengaluru FC?

Little is known about Bengaluru FC among both the Iraqi fans and the Al-Jawiya players but with both teams in a final, the opposition will be respected. 23 years ago Al-Zawraa, one of the most successful clubs in Iraqi football history were humiliated 6-2 by the East Bengal Club so Iraqis will be wary of this very fact.

Follow Hassanin Mubarak on Twitter here.

You can read his extensive preview of Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya here.

Bengaluru FC, The history Makers

October 20, 2016 footballnewsindia Leave a comment

Bengaluru FC, CK Vineeth, Football, Bengaluru, Bangalore, Bengaluru FC, Indian Football, AFC Cup, Johor Darul Taksim, Malaysia

Pic Credit : JSW Media

Fans were cheering and dressed in blue as the teams walked into the stadium. Albert Roca’s men dressed in blue (home jersey) and the Malaysian side were in their red shirts.A goalless draw would take the home team to the finals. The Malaysian side have never lost to the Indian side in their 4 meetings against them , BFC managed to walk home with a draw in their last meeting.
Peeeep!!! The match started with Bengaluru driving forward , the home advantage has given the blue’s much needed confidence. Blues dominated the field as Rino Anto troubled the JDT defense with his quality crosses . Both teams played good football , it was a delight to watch both the sides attacking each others goal .Against the run of play the visitors pierced Bengaluru’s net in the 11th minute through their captain, Safiq Rahim as he scored from the close range.

The goal certainly made the home team restless as they looked dangerous at the opponent half . They had chances to score the equaliser , but the home team was more interested in wasting the chances rather than scoring from it. On the other hand Roca’s men in looked dangerous on the break ,but their efforts lacked quality to test the keeper. Bengaluru was desperate to make the score level before the break and their moment came in the 40th minute as the captain Sunil Chhetri headed home the equaliser from Eugenson Lyngdoh’s corner. There were some odd efforts on either ends but the efforts were not enough to break the deadlock. As referee pointed to the half time scores were equal.

The second half began with the same intensity but this time the away team were dominating the field with their possession and their team play , as they were closing down too quickly on BFC players.JDT made the first substitution of the match and were bossing the midfield areas .Meanwhile home team looked dangerous on break and they got in front in the 66th minute . The captain stepped up again , Chhetri scored a 30 yard stunner from outside the box with his right foot . Few minutes later Bengaluru side extended their lead through Juan Antonio as he headed home the 3rd goal from a typical Eugenson Lyngdoh’s freekick. JDT put their bodies forward to make a come back but the home teams defense stood as rock. All the attacks by the away team was knocked off by the Bangaluru defense.Referee signaled the end of the match after a tough 90 minutes and the stadium erupted.

A Historic achievement , Bengaluru FC has made it to the finals of AFC cup, Proud moment for Indian football .The Iraqi Air force Club awaits them in the finals.Surely the newbie of Indian football made us proud.

Match Report by Jithin Baby. Follow his blog here : https://jithinbabymulackampilly.wordpress.com

Aston Villa to open academy in India

July 26, 2016 footballnewsindia Leave a comment

Aston Villa’s new owner Tony Xia was in India, meeting government officials to discuss the possibility of setting up an academy and engage with Indian Super League clubs.

#AstonVilla to open an academy in India? https://t.co/rNzauXGW9d #Indianfootball #Football #India #China #EPL pic.twitter.com/SSmn491oGb

— football news india (@fni) July 23, 2016

Yesterday, the club announced their plans to set up an academy and seek opportunities to tie-up with Indian Super league clubs. The club website said after meeting with Minister of Sports Vijay Goel and the Minister of Education Prakesh Javedekar, Aston Villa will be appointed as an advisor on football. The sport is a part of the national curriculum for Indian state schools.

Villa’s new academy will come up in New Delhi on a property provided by the Municipal Council. The new academy will have state-of-the-art facilities, including an artificial turf.

The report also mentions about a possible tie-up with an Indian Super League side.

Aston Villa Chairman Tony Xia was quoted as saying :

“Aston Villa Football Club, one of the most successful football clubs in the history of English football, plans to expand globally and India is one of the countries where Aston Villa not only wants to have an Indian Super League club but also open football academies all over India!”

Former Barcelona assistant manager Albert Roca roped in as coach by Bengaluru FC

July 7, 2016 footballnewsindia Leave a comment

Former Barcelona Assistant Signs Two-Year Deal With Indian Champions; AFC Cup Quarterfinal Will Be Roca’s First Game In Charge

Bengaluru: Bengaluru FC are delighted to announce the appointment of Albert Roca as the club’s new coach. The 53-year-old Spaniard has signed a two-year deal that keeps him with the Blues till the end of the 2017-18 season.

Roca brings with him a wealth of coaching experience at the highest level having served as an assistant to Frank Rijkaard for five seasons at Barcelona (2003-2008) during which the Catalans won the Champions League once, the La Liga twice and the Spanish Super Cup twice before following the Dutchman in the same role to Turkish club Galatasaray (2009-2010) and finally the Saudi Arabian national team (2011-2013). Roca’s last job was as manager of the El Salvador national team where he was in charge for a year.

As a player, Roca’s most notable stints were with Real Zaragoza and CE Sabadell FC in the La Liga apart from shifts with a number of clubs in the second division.

“We are very excited to announce Albert Roca as the new coach of Bengaluru FC. He is, what I would call, a major signing at the club. Albert has been with some of the best clubs in Europe as well as spent time in developing countries because of which he will have a great sense of the challenges India would bring,” said Parth Jindal, CEO, Bengaluru FC.

“We have had a very successful three years and Albert is only going to compound the efforts we have been making. He has also done some commendable work with young players in his career and that is absolutely in line with the philosophy of BFC where we are trying to develop players into stellar talent for the future,” he added.

Roca, a resident of Grannolers in Catalonia near Barcelona, said he was excited at the prospect of joining the Blues and was confident about playing the kind of football that the club and the supporters would be proud of.

“I’m very satisfied to have signed with Bengaluru FC. They are the champions of India, have fantastic supporters and most importantly, have a great support system and a management that is always hands on and wants to stay at the top. I want to assure our supporters that we will always give it our best. I want the supporters to be happy about the way we play,” said Roca.

Roca’s first game in charge will be the AFC Cup quarterfinal against Singapore side Tampines Rovers in September; a game he reckons will be a tough challenge. “The AFC Cup quarterfinal is definitely going to be a big challenge but we will do our best to get a good result and make the semis,” he said.

The Blues coach is expected to land in Bengaluru in the fourth week of July.

Ayeyawady’s Match-fixing Saga : The Breaking News that I Couldn’t Break!

July 4, 2016 footballnewsindia Leave a comment

Perks and dilemma of being an Indian football influencer.

The latest news from Myanmar is that Ayeyawady United is under the scanner from authorities over match fixing. A report that has appeared in Myanmar Times have revealed that a club official, along with some players fixed a few of their matches in Myanmar league, and also an AFC cup match. We are not yet sure of which AFC cup match of Ayeyawady was fixed, it will only be revealed after investigations are completed by the Myanmar league and the club itself. In AFC Cup, Ayeyawady was in a group comprising of Bengaluru FC, Johor from Malaysia and Lao Toyota FC from Laos.

It is being reported that an anonymous complaint has been filed with the Myanmar league authorities, involving officials and players of club. Ayeyawady had contrasting fortunes in the AFC Cup group stage as they got thorough drubbings at the hands of Johor (8-1) and Bengaluru FC (5-3) in their away matches. The home leg matches were also defeats, but the margin was less as they went down 0-1 to Bengaluru FC and 1-2 to Johor. They also managed two wins against the Laos side Lao Toyota FC.

On April 13th, when Bengaluru FC played Ayeyawady at home, and defeated them 5-3, I was quite elated. But suddenly, my sense of elation turned into a sense of concern, as an unknown twitter handle claimed that the match was probably fixed. It was a commendable performance from BFC and all of a sudden when I got to hear this, it made me a bit upset. I started digging deeper to get more information on this.

In no time, I followed the handle that broke this news and discussed why he thought that the match was fixed. This person, who introduced himself as a professional gambler from UK, explained why he thought the BFC vs Ayeyawady match was probably fixed and this is why he thought so.

Basically the odds in play were not moving naturally all game. Everything was almost over in the match and Bengaluru was getting hit constantly. Even with 2 minutes to go, the odds were so so short. The odds should be going the other way when the game is nearly over etc. Nearly every round of AFC cup games, a team will be fixing.

He went on to claim that it is pretty common for teams from Myanmar and Laos to indulge in match fixing.

Usually a Myanmar side or Laos side. Even happening in world cup qualifying games in Asia too. FIFA/AFC seem to take a blind eye towards it. I’m a professional gambler so it’s very easy for me to read the odds in Asian betting markets to see a game that looks dodgy.

…And was quick to point out that so far he has not seen an Indian team involving in fixing and gave a clean chit to our football.

For Bengaluru the prices were so much lower than what they should be. The defending for the goals back it up too. But yeah anyway the good news is that i’ve not seen an indian team fix this year so i’m pretty certain your football is clean.

We still don’t know if the match involving Bengaluru FC was fixed or not. But it was very surprising for me to see a report pop up this week – JDT’s AFC Cup opponent Ayeyawady face match-fixing investigation. Betting is not a silly issue, that I could go public without some credible evidence. So I kept it to myself, and later shared my concerns with some close friends who actively track Indian Football. They did not express any surprise either after hearing the news.

Betting is a dicey issue and it probably happens a lot in Asian football. Many reports claim that there are many betting cartels active in Asia. The recent inclusion of Justice Mudgal in FIFA’s governance committee is definitely a step by FIFA to utilize his expertise in understanding these networks that operate in Asia, especially South Asia. Justice Mudgal was appointed by the Indian Supreme Court as part of a three-member committee that led the inquiry in the IPL betting and spot fixing case.

Afterthought: There are no considerable rewards for running an Indian Football news Twitter handle, except having some followers among fans, players, officials and journalists, who are connected with and are passionate about the sport. But the real joy is when you get trinkets of information such as this alert on match fixing, which later gets substantiated. Call it a dilemma or a joy – these are definitely perks of being an Indian Football Influencer.

FC MIDTJYLLAND to select kids for 2 months training stint in Denmark

April 12, 2016 footballnewsindia Leave a comment

April 11, 2016: FC Midtjylland, the prevailing Champions of Danish Superliga, will be conducting an Intensive Football Training Program in Denmark for talented kids aged 12-14 from India. This will be a residential program for 2 months during June & July and will be managed by the Coaches of FC Midtjylland Football Academy, considered to be the best football Academy in Northern Europe.

The Program includes intensive training of 3 hours/day for 4 days in a week with match day over the weekend. Physical strengthening and video analysis sessions are part of the Program.

The Bangalore Selection Camp for the Program will be on 16^th April 2016 at Play Arena on Sarjapur Road from 8.30 am onwards. Registrations can be done over mail at fcmindiatrainingprogram@gmail.com or over phone at +91 73495 24234.

PDC Services Pvt Ltd & New World Consulting are managing the Program for FCM.

“We have designed this Program to offer a firsthand experience of intensive professional training to talented young footballers from India and this can be used as test bed to plan the future path for the aspiring kids and their parents “said Sunanda Das, Director, PDC Services Pvt Ltd.

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