U-17 WC: India U-17 coach wants Australia tour cancelled

Published on: 05 August 2017
U-17 WC: India U-17 coach wants Australia tour cancelled
India U-17 Coach Luis Norton Matos

The Indian team's preparation for the Under-17 World Cup later this year has not been smooth so far.

After their exposure tour to the United States was cancelled last month for want of sufficient time to procure visas and another trip to Mexico delayed due to visa and ticketing issues, it seems that their trip Australia later this month is under the cloud due to extreme weather conditions in the country.

It was learnt that India's Portuguese coach Luis Norton de Matos has voiced his concerns to the All India Football Federation (AIFF) recently and wants the parent body to organize a tournament or a few friendlies in India instead.

"The U-17 team is now in Mexico where the temperature is around 18 degrees. They will return to a hot and humid Delhi in the second week of August and are supposed to fly to Australia on August 15.

While there wouldn't have been any issues in procuring the visas this time around, the weather is a major deterrent," AIFF general secretary Kushal Das told TOI on Thursday.

"It's extremely cold in Australia now and the temperature is currently ranging between 0-8 degrees. So the coach feels that the young boys will find it difficult to adjust to the climatic conditions in such a small span of time. In fact, we won't even play the World Cup in such severe cold conditions. Hence, he has instead asked us if we can organize a few matches or a tournament in the country to facilitate their preparations," Das added.

India, who have been grouped with the United States, Colombia and Ghana, will host the Under-17 World Cup from October 6-28.

Credit: Times of India

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