The Indian senior women’s team will be embarking on an exposure tour to Turkey where they will be playing in the Turkish Women’s Cup from February 27 onwards.
India have been clubbed with Romania, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan in Group A, while France ‘B’, Jordan, Northern Ireland, and hosts Turkey make up Group B.
Every team will play each other in the group once with the group-toppers making it to the final. There will also be matches for the third and the fourth slot, the fifth and the sixth slot, and the seventh and the eighth places.
The tournament is part of the Indian women’s team preparation for the AFC Olympic qualifiers round two in April, and also the SAFF Women’s Championship scheduled in March.
Since January, the girls have played seven international matches which includes their exposure tours to Hong Kong and Indonesia, and the Gold Cup in Bhubaneswar.
The All India Football Federation’s General Secretary Kushal Das said that the aim is to “provide a foolproof preparation” for the women’s senior team ahead of the Olympic qualifiers round two.
“We are committed to provide the best of exposure to the senior women’s team. The experience of playing against stronger teams will serve them in good stead prior to the SAFF Championship, and obviously the Olympic qualifiers,” he said.
National team director Abhishek Yadav, said, “The girls have already played in seven international matches since January. At the Turkish women’s Gold Cup, we are guaranteed of another four matches. The tournament will further help to assess the areas we need to stress upon in the Olympic qualifiers, and also in the SAFF Championship,” he maintained.
The squad will leave India on February 20 and play their first match against Uzbekistan on February 27.
India’s fixtures for the Turkish Women’s Cup 2019 is as follows:
February 27: India vs Uzbekistan
March 1: Turkmenistan vs India
March 3: Romania vs India
March 5: Play-off matches, including final
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