So, hosted by India in either September or December this year....this was all released in 2013...what has happened since? India is huge....what cities are they playing in? Who knows? Do they hosts even know?
Afghanistan is officially out, however, CAFF is not established. This will open a window for Afghanistan to participate in SAFF for the last time. If Afghanistan wants to be more prepared during the World Cup Qualifiers, it is good to participate, though it also means more money is required in a year full of football activities.
Has to be December as the World Cup/Asian Cup qualifiers would take a hiatus by then. The last time I heard anything, IMG wanted to persist in holding the matches in Delhi to get the "glamour" factor going. AIFF were reluctant with the idea due to the high costs of leasing the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium. Rumour was that they wanted to host the tournament elsewhere, preferably Trivandrum, Chennai or Bangalore. I hope this is true as these cities have huge Maldivian populations (at least huge by Maldivian standards!). If Afghanistan decide to opt out I hope SAFF ExCo have the forethought to invite someone else to balance the number of teams in both groups.
I think Afghanistan should play so we can atleast defend our title. However if we aren't invited, it will be interesting to see who SAFF invites. Edit: or maybe it could even be in round robin format like the first one.
Unless the SAFF ExCo has a fit of jealous rage or something weird like that, I believe it will come down to how willing Afghanistan are to defend their title. Think of it as one last parting shot. If they decide to switch their focus elsewhere then I suppose an AFF team will be the most likely invitee. Someone like Myanmar, who have expressed interest in joining SAARC as a full-time member and shares borders with India and Bangladesh.
Yeah dont see why SAFF wouldn't invite us would just come down to the AFF. I agree that Myanmar should be invited if we aren't since they are geographically closer and also they are at the same level as India and Maldives.
Agree, and given most of the finances are required to get a full strength of domestic and abroad players for the qualifiers, the SAFF Cup (If Afghanistan participate, they should go with a domestic squad, to give them the required match practice.
The SAFF Championship is probably going to be moved to June because of the ISL. http://www.thedailystar.net/saff-cship-in-june-64185
It's February now and yet they still don't know when they will play. SAFF don't take it seriously, yet will complain when spectators don't turn up. SAFF running to the tune of the ISL... does anyone else have a say in football in the region?
Having teams play 3-5 games in less than 2 weeks will be a travesty in the heat of June in India. I am still not really a fan of Afghanistan's switch to CAFF. Iran's arrogance and a 6 team structure will prevent any meaningful tournament and the most that can happen is friendlies between CAFF nations, which already occur anyway.
It would be very silly to stage the SAFF Championship in the midst of vital qualification matches...unless AIFF are expecting to see India getting eliminated in the first round. Anyway, why should the ISL take precedence over the other seven leagues? Ever since I remember, Maldives have been forced to reschedule a large part of our domestic season every other year due to the SAFF Championship. If this indeed happens, I suspect we'll send our U-23 team as there appears to be a steely determination here to do well in the qualifiers. Nothing has been finalised yet though, so hopefully there's still time to knock some sense into whoever is pulling the strings here.
AIFF is puppet of IMG-RIL so there is nothing they can do about ISL. Mr Ambani(One of the richest Mofos in the world) will run his show(ISL) as he wishes to. Just look at AIFF's calender this season ! I-League and NT compromised for ISL.
It would be awesome if Indian footballers refused to play in the ISL. Show the rich business moguls that there already is a fully functioning league that is crying out for more investment and a national team that is at odds with a moneyball competition.
Given the new setup of Qualifying matches, its so interesting to see that scheduling it is tough... Most of the nations are keen in focussing in the group stage of the qualification (or getting to it) !
http://maldivesoccer.com/s/SAFF-Cship-to-host-in-June-5734 No other option but to host it in June according to AIFF. They're pushing to hold it in Delhi as well...
wait for this tournament Afghanistan joined the Central Asian Football Federation, but in February 2015, Afghanistan's Secretary General, Seyed Reza Aghazadeh, announced that Afghanistan would participate in their last championship in 2015
Given it will be after the first 2 qualifiers, Afghanistan might most probably send a domestic side to gain experience. The domestic players really need to step up
I hope not. If it is in June none of the players will have club commitments and Afghanistan needs to build up the team chemistry with so many new faces. I say we try to cap Nadiem Amiri in the SAFF championship
SAff Cup 2015 is a bonus and potentially last Cup they will play in, I personally think its a good place for Afghanistan to send an all doemstic / young team to the games. At the end of the day, AFF need to develop the domestic players and although the scorelines wont be positive, it will still give the team experience. An Afghan U23 team would be ideal to the tourement so potentially our FIFA ranking doesnt get affected.