GOA: The Local Organising Committee for the 17^th edition of the AFC U – 16 Championship India 2016, announced FREE match viewing for all the football fans. The flagship event is scheduled to begin from 15^th September with 16 teams from the continent vying to win the title. 

The Championships will be played at Goa’s Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (Fatorda) and GMC Stadium will be made open for everyone and  all the fans have to do is register online on http://get2thegames.com/ and collect the tickets a day prior from the counters at the stadiums.

Describing what should be one of the biggest events in the history of Indian football, Mr. Javier Ceppi, Tournament Director for the LOC said, “I believe Goans would really enjoy the biggest international football tournament in the country to date. This tournament will provide an amazing opportunity for football fans in the country to witness top class international level football at their doorstep. The important aspect attached to this tournament is that these matches are also the FIFA U-17 World Cup India 2017 Qualifiers for Asia, so the teams would be playing for something very important and that will definitely be reflected on the field.”

Hosts India who have been clubbed with the UAE, Saudi Arabia and IR Iran will play their group matches on September 15, 18 and 21 respectively. Coach Nicolai Adam who has been working tirelessly with his players for the tournament was optimistic about his team’s chances. In his words,  “The exposure tour to Germany and Norway went really well as it helped the entire team to reach a competitive level. It will be very difficult for any team playing in the AFC U-16 Finals to beat us.”

Full Schedule of India games below:

Date	Time	Match	Venue
Thursday, 15-09-2016	19:00 hrs	India vs UAE	Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Goa
Sunday, 18-09-2016	19:00 hrs	Saudi Arabia vs India	Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Goa
Wednesday, 21-09-2016	19:00 hrs	India vs IR Iran	Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Goa

India Squad:

Goalkeepers: Dheeraj Singh Moirangthem, Prabhsukhan Singh Gill, Mohammad Nawaz

Defenders: Boris Singh Thangjam, Jitendra Singh, Mohammed Sarif Khan, Mohamad Rakip, Gaston D'Silva, Narender

Midfielders: Sanjeev Stalin, Suresh Singh Wangjam, Khumanthem Ninthoinganba Meetei, Amarjit Singh Kiyam, Komal Thatal, Aniket Anil Jadhav, Lalengmawia, Saurabh Meher, Joseph Vanlalhruaia

Forwards: Aman Chetri, Rahul Kannoly Praveen, Nonganba Singh Akoijam 

Tournament Groupings:

Group A: India, IR Iran, Saudi Arabia, UAE

Group B: Australia, Japan, Vietnam, Kyrgyzstan

Group C: Korea Republic, Malaysia, Oman, Iraq

Group D: DPR Korea, Uzbekistan, Thailand, Yemen