KOLKATA: India will begin their SAFF Championship 2023 campaign with a match against Pakistan in Bengaluru on June 21.
The Blue Tigers have been drawn in Group A of the championship, along with Kuwait, Nepal, and Pakistan, in the official draw ceremony that was held in New Delhi on Wednesday.
Kuwait and Lebanon are the two teams from outside the South Asian region, who are taking part in the tournament as special invitees.
The tournament is scheduled to get underway in Bengaluru from June 21, with the final on July 4.
The Group B consists of Lebanon, Maldives, Bhutan and Bangladesh.
“I would like to convey my deep gratitude to the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) for acquiescing to our request of inviting more countries from outside the South Asian region to participate in this Championship. I feel that the addition of Kuwait and Lebanon will help make the Championship more competitive, and I am deeply thankful to the SAFF for taking our recommendation into consideration,” All India Football Federation president Kalyan Chaubey said before the draw ceremony.
According to the schedules, the tournament will open with the Kuwait vs Nepal match on June 21 and India will take on Pakistan in the second match of the day.
India will face Nepal on June 24 and meet Kuwait three days later.
“Our effort remains to play around 20-25 quality matches, and we have already seen that process begin with the Hero Tri-Nation Cup in Imphal. Now, our team will also play the Hero Intercontinental Cup in Bhubaneswar, followed by the SAFF Championship in Bengaluru. They are also set to play the Merdeka Cup in Malaysia and the King’s Cup in Thailand later this year,” Chaubey, a former India goalkeeper, said.
