Indian football team for England

Our Correspondent

The Indian football team will undertake a two-week tour of England in July-August during which it will play four matches against leading English clubs.

This was disclosed by AIFF president Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi after its executive committee meeting in Delhi on Saturday.

Dasmunshi said the decision to send the team to England comes in the wake of its heartening performance in the just-concluded World Cup qualifiers.

The team, which will leave on July 20, will play Brant Ford FC on July 24, Nottingham Forest, a division one team, on July 28, Leyton Orient on July 31 and second division outfit Walsall on August 3.

Dasmunshi lauded the services of national coach Sukhwinder Singh, and informed that he will be in charge of the team till the next Asian Games.

He also announced that FIFA, the world body, granted $400,000 to the AIFF under the 'FIFA Goal Project'. He said the grant will be used to set up a 'Football House', which will become the AIFF headquarters and a training centre.

The executive committee also decided to restart the Federation Cup, which was previously played to decide the champion club of India. The tournament will be held from August 15 to 31, either in Pondicherry or Kerala.

AIFF secretary Alberto Colaco informed that eight firms, including Doordarshan and TWI, are in the race for sponsorship and television rights.