India's miserable campaign in the AFC Challenge Cup ended with a 0-4 rout by strong contenders DPR Korea in their last league encounter at the Dashrath Stadium, in Kathmandu, on Friday.
Indian football captain Sunil Chhetri on Tuesday warned his players against complacency if they have to defend the AFC Challenge Cup which begins in Kathmandu on March 8.
IMAGES from the Premier League matches played across England, on Saturday.
Dempo failed to qualify for the AFC Cup quarter-finals after suffering a 1-3 defeat to Kuwait Sports Club in the round of 16 match in Kuwait City. Dempo, without key defender Mahesh Gawli, who had to sit out because off a booking, were the second-best team for most part of the single-leg pre-quarter-final at the Kuwait SC Stadium on Tuesday night.
Climax Lawrence struck in injury time to take India to a 1-0 victory over Afghanistan in their first match of the AFC Challenge Cup at the Gachibowli Stadium in Hyderabad on Wednesday.
The delay in installation of floodlights at the Nehru stadium in Margao, Goa, has forced the state's football association to ask the All Indian Football Federation to shift Dempo's AFC Cup quarter-final to another venue. This is a big blow to India's National League champions, who are scheduled to play their AFC Cup home match against Singapore's Home United on September 16.
History beckons trailblazers Bengaluru FC as they lock horns with Air Force Club of Iraq in the summit clash of AFC Cup in Doha on Saturday, aiming to become the first Indian football club to clinch a continental title. Bengaluru FC have already created history by becoming the first Indian club to qualify for the final of a continental tournament after they defeated defending champions Johor Darul Ta'zim in the semifinals on 4-2 aggregate last month. Before this, the farthest an Indian club had advanced in a continental tournament was the two AFC Cup semifinal appearances by Dempo in 2008 and East Bengal in 2013.
Images from English Premier League matches played on Sunday.
Football captain Sunil Chhetri wants India to "set a benchmark" by regularly qualifying for AFC Asian Cup, the continent's premier tournament.
Bhat is the youngest among the probables shortlisted by the AIFF for the India under-23 squad.
Dempo paid for their profligacy with an own goal by their captain to go down 2-3 to Sur Club of Oman in the AFC Cup Group A thriller at Nizwa. The I-League champions, who beat Lebanese powerhouse Al Ansar in their opening pool match, wasted a couple of clear chances and conceded an own goal by star playmaker Climax Lawrence.
Dempo Sports Club exploited the shaky rival defence scoring a 3-1 win over Lebanon's Al Ansar in the opening group match of the AFC Cup at the Nehru Stadium in Margao on Tuesday.
The National Football League champions scored a 2-0 away victory over Singapore Armed Forces FC.
Mahindra United drew with Al Nejmeh 3-3 in the away match in Beirut and lost the AFC Cup tie on 5-4 aggregate.
Ranti Martins and Chidi Edeh struck a brace each to outplay Sur Club of Oman 5-2 in their final Group A match and take their side to their maiden AFC Cup quarter-finals in Margao on Wednesday.
High on confidence but low on performance, India will look to put behind the recent reverses when they take on Chinese Taipei in their opening match of the AFC Challenge Cup qualifying tournament in Yangon on Saturday.
No continent has escaped the 'cancer' of football match-fixing and it is too big a problem for one organisation to tackle alone, AFC acting president Zhang Jilong warned as the regional body and INTERPOL kicked off a two-day seminar on the issue on Wednesday.
East Bengal became the first Indian team to qualify for the AFC Cup knock-out round with an unbeaten record after thrashing Vietnam outfit Sai Gon Xuan Thanh 4-1 in their concluding Group H league match at the Vivekananda Yubabharati Krirangan in Kolkata on Tuesday.
India's top clubs were drew 2-2 with Brothers Union of Bangladesh and Turkmenistan's Merv respectively in the second round.
Sushil Kishku scored a brace as the Indian under-19 football team blanked Pakistan 5-0 in their Group B qualifying match for the AFC Championship.
Hosts Dempo SC went down tamely 0-4 to Nasaf FC of Uzbekistan in a Group-A encounter of the AFC Challenge Cup, at the Balewadi Sports Complex, in Pune, on Tuesday.
India began their campaign AFC U-16 football championships campaign on a disappointing note, losing 2-3 to United Arab Emirates at the Nehru Stadium in Margao on Thursday.
Holders Korea Republic thrashed Jordan 3-0 while Japan beat North Korea 2-0.
The Asian Football Confederation have suspended former President Mohamed Bin Hammam after a lengthy audit of their accounts revealed fresh allegations of financial wrongdoing, the body said in a statement on Tuesday.
'Clifford did well to win the Super Cup for Odisha FC, and I'm sure we can expect a good performance from the Indian team.'
Riding on Haitian Sony Norde's superb display, Mohun Bagan beat Colombo Football Club 2-1 in the return leg fixture to storm into the play-off stage of the AFC Cup South Asia Zone on 4-2 aggregate in Kolkata on Tuesday.
Ivan Toney, once Brentford's lynchpin in attack, has moved to Al-Ahli for 40 million pounds ($52.50 million).
Speculation over his role was sparked off when senior BJP leader Subramanian Swamy tweeted earlier in the day, Modi should take Cinema star Sharuk Khan to Qatar with him since after MEA and NSA had failed to persuade the Shiekhs of Qatar, Modi pleaded with Khan to intervene , and thus got an expensive settlement from the Qatar Shiekhs to free our Naval officers.
A goalless draw against Chinese Taipei gave India the top spot in Group A.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
North Korea were held to a 1-1 draw by 10-man Turkmenistan in their opening group game of the AFC Challenge Cup in Colombo on Wednesday.
A 22-member India Under-23 football squad left the country on Sunday to defend their title in the AFC Challenge Cup to be held in Colombo from February 16-27.
Stephen Constantine said he has accepted the contract extension offered to him by the All India Football Federation (AIFF), which will make him the longest serving national coach in the history of the sport.
Talented winger Lallianzuala Chhangte "would not mind" stepping up as the next number 9 of the Indian football team, after talismanic forward Sunil Chhetri's illustrious career comes to an end in Kolkata on June 6.
India opened their campaign by defeating Lebanon 5-2 in the opening match of the AFC U-22 Championship at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex, Muscat on Saturday.
AIFF Player of the Year, Sunil Chhetri will lead India in the AFC Challenge Cup to be held in Kathmandu from March 8.
A goal deep into stoppage time snapped Dempo's winning spree in the AFC Cup as the Goan outfit settled for a 1-1 against defending champions Al Muharraq in the Group E match at the Bahrain National Stadium on Tuesday night.
Following a virtual meeting on June 16th, 2024, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) announced a change in leadership for the Senior Men's National Team.
A summary of Saturday's action in the English Premier League.
India will be up against UAE, Saudi Arabia and Iran in the group stages of AFC U-16 Championship as the draw for the event, which will act as a dress rehearsal for next year's FIFA U-17 World Cup, was held amid much fanfare in Panaji, Goa on Thursday. The tournament begins on September 15 and matches will be held at Fatorda and Bambolim Stadium in Goa. The final is slated to be played on October 2. The top two teams from each groups will qualify for the quarter-finals. In case India, who are in Group A, advance to the semi-finals, the winner of play-off 3 will also qualify for FIFA U-17 World Cup. Conducted by Shin Mangil, Director of Competitions, Asian Football Confederation, the ceremony was attended by Goa Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar, Secretary of All India Football Federation Kushal Das and U-17 World Cup Tournament Director Javier Ceppi among others. The 16 participating teams were divided into four groups.
