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New Delhi [India], Oct 26 (ANI): The Asian Football Confederation on Saturday endorsed All India Football Federation's (AIFF) roadmap of Indian football and with this, the Indian Super League (ISL) will be recognised as the top league in India starting from 2019-2020 season. Earlier, I-League used to hold the position of the top league in the country. The AFC endorsed the roadmap during a meeting in Vietnam. The ISL League winners would also be entitled to a play-off place in the AFC Champions League and the I-League champions would take a place in the AFC Cup in 'a package that takes into consideration the recommendations of the FIFA/AFC report of 2017'. The AFC Executive Committee also noted the impressive start for the ISL in Kochi last Friday. For the season-opening match, the TV audience doubled after the game was shown in seven languages on 20 channels across the nation. Following the AFC Executive Committee decision, the roadmap for Indian football is as follow...

Chennai, Oct 26 (IANS) Indian Super League (ISL) action comes to the city of Chennai for the very first time this season as Chennaiyin FC take on Mumbai City FC in their first home game. The fans of ISL Season 4 champions would hope for a better performance from their team after a terrible campaign last time around which saw them finish rock-bottom. "First game in front of the fans and obviously our players want to make an impression. I don't care how we win, we need to get three points. I'd be delighted if we can take maximum points from the next two games," said head coach John Gregory. Chennaiyin have not had the best of starts, however. They started with a 0-3 away defeat to FC Goa where their defence looked all at sea against a brilliant attack. Centre-backs Lucian Goian and Eli Sabia didn't have the best of outings and could not keep Ferran Corominas and co. at bay. But the Romanian centre-back should be pumped to face his former side with whom he spent t...

New Delhi, Oct 26 (IANS) 2017-18 I-League champions Punjab FC will definitely be a force to reckon with in the latest edition of the championship and one of the players to keep an eye out for will be young Thoiba Singh Moirangthem, who is already making waves with his performances at just 16 years of age. He was a part of the India U-16 team that reached the quarter-finals of the AFC U-16 Championships last year in Malaysia and the side that lifted the SAFF U-18 Championship in September. At the domestic level, he made his professional debut with Punjab FC in the last edition of the I-League against the Indian Arrows at only 15 and went on to make seven league appearances in the season. "Playing in the I-League was a phenomenal experience," he told www.i-league.org, before adding, "I learned a lot from it and it has made me a better player for sure." He spoke about how travelling around the country and sharing the dressing room with highly experienced players ha...

New Delhi, Oct 26 (IANS) The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Executive Committee meeting for the first time in Vietnam on Saturday endorsed the roadmap for Indian football as a plan to grow the sport in the world's second most populous country. The endorsement comes shortly after the AFC held a summit in Kuala Lumpur on October 14 and involved representatives of both the Indian Super League (ISL) and the I-League as well as the All India Football Federation (AIFF) and IMG-Reliance. The roadmap for the reform process is for the club game in the country -- with the ISL being recognised as the top league in India starting from the 2019-2020 season. The ISL League winners would also be entitled to a play-off place in the AFC Champions League and the I-League champions would take a place in the AFC Cup in 'a package that takes into consideration the recommendations of the FIFA/AFC report of 2017'. The AFC Executive Committee, at their meeting in Da Nang, noted the impress...

New Delhi, Oct 26 (IANS) The frequency of playing international competitions has helped the players keep themselves in shape all year round, believes Indian women's team head coach Maymol Rocky. The senior women's team is set to play two FIFA international friendlies against Vietnam next month. Ahead of the matches against Vietnam, the Indian team has assembled in the national capital for a training camp. Speaking to the media on the first day of the camp, Maymol Rocky was all praise about the growing exposure that her team is getting. "We are playing tournaments or international matches at frequent intervals," she said. "We now have camps almost every month and that is something that helps the players keep up their fitness." The women's team has had a busy schedule this year, having played the Hero Gold Cup, the SAFF Championship, AFC Olympic Qualifiers Round 2 in Myanmar, followed by an exposure tour to Turkey, the COTIF Cup in Spain, and two inter...

New Delhi [India], Oct 26 (ANI): Indian women's football team coach Maymol Rocky on Saturday said that she is confident that her side would give their best in the upcoming match against Vietnam. "In my opinion, the match against Vietnam would be tough, but we will give it our best. We have done full preparation. We want to play difficult matches, which will help us in preparing for the AFC Cup in the future. We are just focussed on playing the right brand of football. If we play to our potential, our ranking will improve," Rocky told ANI. Talking about Vietnam, Rocky said: "Vietnam recently defeated Thailand. We are looking at the World cup. The AFC Cup will be a small step for us. But the bigger plan for us is the World Cup. So if we can give our best performance against one of the top countries, I will be happy." When asked about the importance of the AFC Cup, she said: "Yes, we are preparing for that and we are trying to play against all the AFC coun...

Montevideo (Uruguay), Oct 26 (IANS) Strikers Edinson Cavani and Luis Suarez have returned to Uruguay's squad for international friendlies next month, the South American country's football association has announced. Paris Saint-Germain's Cavani is fit again after a hip injury while Suarez returns after being given special dispensation to receive treatment on his troublesome right knee, reports Xinhua news agency. Both players missed Uruguay's back to back friendlies against Peru this month. Head coach Oscar Tabarez also recalled Flamengo midfielder Giorgian di Arrascaeta following successful knee surgery. Others to return are striker Christian Stuani, midfielder Gaston Pereiro and defenders Bruno Mendez and Mathias Suarez. The Celeste will meet Hungary in Budapest on November 15 and are expected to play another friendly against a yet-to-be-named opponent four days later. aak/dpb via Sify.com https://ift.tt/2JnxCFD