SAFF Cup 2023: India and Pakistan to renew football rivalry; clubbed in same group
SAFF Cup 2023 will be held in Bengaluru between June 21-July 4. The iconic India-Pakistan rivalry will highlight the tournament as the arch-rivals clash in football for the first time in five years.
FollowIndia and Pakistan are set to renew their football rivalry after nearly five years as the two neighbouring countries have been clubbed in the same group in the SAFF Cup to be held in Bengaluru from June 21 to July 4. The draw of the 14th edition of the South Asian Football Federation Cup was held here on Wednesday, with defending champion India, along with Pakistan, Kuwait and Nepal, being clubbed in Group A. Lebanon, Maldives, Bangladesh, and Bhutan are in Group B.
The group matches will be played in a round-robin league format, and the top two teams in each group will qualify for the semi-finals of the eight-nation regional tournament at the Kanteerava Stadium. Lebanon and Kuwait -- the two countries outside of South Asia -- were invited to make the competition more competitive. Lebanon is the highest-ranked side in the event at 99th, while Pakistan is the lowest at 195th. India is the second-highest-ranked side at 101st.
The Indo-Pak Group A match will be played on June 21 in the second match of the opening day after Kuwait face Nepal in the inaugural game. India and Pakistan last played against each other in September 2018 in the semi-final of the 12th edition of the SAFF Cup in Dhaka. India won that match 3-1 but lost to Maldives 1-2 in the final.
Overall, India and Pakistan have officially played more than 20 international matches. India has been the dominant side of the two, with more than a dozen wins under their belt. India has won the SAFF Cup eight times while finishing runners-up four times. The only time India did not reach the final was in the fifth edition in 2003 in Dhaka, when the country finished third.
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The All India Football Federation (AIFF) hopes that Pakistan players and support staff will get visas to participate in the tournament. "Pakistan has confirmed its participation in the tournament. That is why they are here in the draw. All the countries of the South Asian region have the right to play in this tournament," AIFF president Kalyan Chaubey said after the draw.
"But, things like granting visas and providing security to the teams are not the job of any country's football federation. The AIFF administration will coordinate with the concerned ministries of the government, and we will get the answer with time," he added. AIFF secretary general Shaji Prabhakaran told PTI that the Pakistani contingent has already applied for visas to travel to India, and applications have been processed.
"We don't see any issue there. They [Pakistan] have already applied for the visas, and processing has begun," said Prabhakaran, who was also present at the draw ceremony. Pakistan has not featured in two tournaments out of the 13 editions since 1993. Due to internal issues, the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) could not send its team to the 2015 edition held in India. The country missed the 2021 edition in Maldives as it was serving a suspension from the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA). The suspension was lifted in June last year.
Asked if the AIFF has any assurance from the government for the safe conduct of the tournament, Chaubey said, "The slogan of FIFA is FIFA unites the world through football. AIFF is a member association of FIFA. We don't look at the caste, creed and religion under the FIFA Charter. When a player gets down to the ground wearing their national jersey, you don't look at the caste and religion of that player. The player represents their country. Moreover, we can't host an international tournament without permission from the government."
SAFF general secretary Anwar-ul Huq said that the participating countries had assured the organisers that they would send their first national teams. "We assure you that Lebanon, Kuwait and all other participating teams will send their full national teams. We could have brought other countries as suggested by the AIFF, but their national teams were engaged, and we did not want any age-group teams for this tournament," he said.
India head coach Igor Stimac reiterated that the competitiveness of the tournament would be higher with the addition of the two teams from the Middle East. "We need to behave and act as favourites to win the tournament. We welcome Kuwait and Lebanon as guests. Playing against them should help us prepare for the AFC Asian Cup. A long-duration camp was always something we were insisting on, and we are going to use it to improve certain parts of our game, work more on the mental strength and passing confidence," said Stimac.
SAFF Cup fixtures:
June 21: Kuwait vs Nepal, 3.30 pm IST; India vs Pakistan, 7.30 pm IST.
June 22: Lebanon vs Bangladesh, 3.30 pm IST; Maldives vs Bhutan, 7.30 pm IST.
June 24: Pakistan vs Kuwait, 3.30 pm IST; Nepal vs India, 7.30 pm IST.
June 25: Bangladesh vs Maldives, 3.30 pm IST; Bhutan vs Lebanon, 7.30 pm IST.
June 27: Nepal vs Pakistan, 3.30 pm IST; India vs Kuwait, 7.30 pm IST.
June 28: Lebanon vs Maldives, 3.30 pm IST; Bhutan vs Bangladesh, 7.30 pm IST.
July 1: Semi-finals
July 4: Final.
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