AIFF Media Team

NEW DELHI: Even as the All India Football Federation had talks with many FAs both in Asia and Africa for possible International Friendlies during the August 30-September 7, 2021 FIFA window, quarantine restrictions in various countries hasn’t allowed such talks to materialise.

At the moment most countries in Asia have very strict quarantine rules for visitors coming in from other countries, and owing to the current pandemic situation Indian citizens are also not allowed to travel to certain countries. The AIFF had even tossed up the idea of playing International Friendlies in Europe with countries from Africa and Asia, but even there the quarantine rules played spoilsport.

Moreover, with the current stringent restriction of visitors coming to India for government guidelines pertaining to health parameters, no other team can visit India during the timeframe without going through quarantine protocols.

Amidst such circumstances, the Nepal Football Association has offered AIFF an option of playing two Friendlies with the Indian Senior Men’s National Team in the above-mentioned window. At the moment, there aren’t any quarantine restrictions for Indian citizens visiting Nepal.

The AIFF thanks the Nepal FA for the offer, and is in the process of finalising the proposal from the Nepal FA with the Head Coach. India will participate in the SAFF tournament scheduled in October.