I-League champs to request AIFF to release their players from Asian Cup camp for the continental matches.
Newly-crowned I-League champions, Dempo, have threatened to withdraw from next season’s AFC Champions League or AFC Cup, whichever they qualify for, unless the club’s players are released for these continental matches from the All India Football Federation (AIFF)-organised 2011 Asian Cup camp.
The national camp is scheduled to run from July to January. Climax Lawrence, Mahesh Gawli, Anwar Ali, Sameer Naik, Anthony Pereira and Clifford Miranda are Dempo players who are vital cogs in the wheel of the India team.
Dempo coach Armando Colaco said he will be writing a letter to the AIFF requesting them to release the players only for the club’s continental matches. “If they accept our request, then we will play. If they don’t there is no point in playing the tournament. We might as well withdraw from it (AFC tournament),” Colaco told DNA on Tuesday.
The AFC tournaments are likely to be held in the last quarter of this year and Dempo has as many as six India players in their squad. Both competitions are prestigious and a good showing by either the club or the national team will bode well for the health of Indian football.
While India has qualified for the Asian Cup after over two decades, Dempo will become the first club from the country to play in the AFC Champions League if they qualify through the playoffs. If Dempo do not win the Champions League play-off tie, then they will slug it out in the AFC Cup, equivalent to the Europa League.
“We played the semifinals of the AFC Cup in 2008. There will be a lot of expectation from us this time. If we go into the tournament without half of our squad and lose by big margins, it will not only create a bad impression for us but also for Indian football,” Colaco said. The AIFF has decided to give contracts to 30 players, who will camp for six to eight months as a part of the 2011 Asian Cup preparation.
Having won the national league four times, Colaco has often expressed his desire to make a mark in Asia. “I understand the requirements of the national team. I don’t want to be a hindrance. I am not asking to release my players for the I-League or the Goan League. I need my players for the AFC competitions,” Colaco said.
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