Mali’s suspension by world football body Fifa on Friday is set to have an adverse impact on India’s preparations for the 2017 U-17 World Cup, scheduled to be played in the country from October 6-28.
On Friday, Fifa suspended the Mali football federation from international football, citing government interference in the running of the association. India’s team for the U-17 World Cup was scheduled to play a colts team from the African nation in Mumbai on April 6 and 9. However, the AIFF has now decided that they will not play against the team.
“The matches stand cancelled,” AIFF general secretary Kushal Das told Sportstar. “We can’t play against a team that has been suspended by the world body. The matches were organised with the help of the Indian government. But now, we have decided to leave for our European tour early, and play a few extra matches there,” Das added.
The Indian team has been mired in controversy off-late. Last month, AIFF had appointed Portugal’s Luis Norton de Matos as the head coach after former coach Nicolai Adam left following after several players complained of being physically abused. The team had been on a poor run under Adam, having lost three tournaments in the last one year.
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