India women’s football team could have Asian Games exposure tour in China or South Korea

The India national women’s football team could have an exposure tour in China or South Korea ahead of the 2014 Asian Games, Sportskeeda can reveal.

Women’s football was introduced in the Asian Games from the 1990 edition but this is only the second time India will be participating in it with their only other appearance coming in 1998 in Bangkok.

India will have to play the qualifiers to get into the final round which will comprise eight nations including hosts South Korea. The format of the qualifiers is yet to be confirmed but it will be held in South Korea only prior to the final round.

The preparations will start with a 45-day camp in Mumbai from the second week of July with the Cooperage Stadium being the venue. That camp will continue till the end of August before an exposure tour in either China or South Korea.

The AIFF are still in talks about the proposed tour and also looking to arrange friendly games both during the preparatory camp in Mumbai and the exposure tour.

Around 35 to 40 players are expected to be called up for the camp and the selection will be done based on the performances at the senior national championship, which was held in Assam back in May.

The women’s team are currently ranked 50th in the FIFA Rankings and 11th in Asia but failed to qualify for the Asian Cup. They haven’t played at international level since May 2013 and thus need plenty of match practice to make sure they are well prepared for the Asian Games.

The women’s SAFF championship is also scheduled to take place in Pakistan in November of this year so participation in the Asian Games will give defending champions India the ideal exposure.