The Asia (AFC) Forum

AFC Challenge Cup 2008

Category: Asia (AFC) - Asian Cup
Created by: TheGoonerMotherShip     Create Date: August 8, 2008     Last Comment: August 8, 2008

It's difficult to understand why so many teams have not called up or not been able to call up their best players for a tournament which could be an easy route to a chance to rub shoulders with the big boys in Asia. Turkmenistan, Afghanistan and DPR Korea were some of the teams that could not or did not call up their players playing in European lower leagues. Is the chance to qualify for Asia's prominent event not big enough for the AFC to be able to pull strings to compel Afghan players in Germany to be released for their national teams? Is the chance to qualify not significant enough for the giants of the tourney (DPR Korea) to send their first string team? Maybe there is some information that I don't have that may explain this approach, but till that comes in, I am completely mystified.

This tournament has not been a showcase for emerging and developing countries of Asian football that AFC would want us to believe. It hasn't been a platform where the AIFF has established itself as the big brother amongst the tiny tots of Asian football. Had it not been for the footballers who have turned up not to play football but to compete with the conditions and the few hundred fans per game, this tournament would not have been worth commenting upon. This, to put it mildly, has been an embarrassment!

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