The All India Football Federation (AIFF) has confirmed an international friendly for the Indian national team against Tajikistan on August 14. The match will be played at the 20 Years of Independence Stadium in Khujand, a 50 minutes flight from Tajikistan’s capital city Dushanbe.

National coach Wim Koevermans said India “needed to play an international friendly” especially after the trip to London got cancelled.

“Our trip to London where we were supposed to play three matches got cancelled. Hence, I had to find a match for the senior team in August,” national coach Wim Koevermans told AIFF Media. “We would be playing on August 14, a day prior to India’s Independence Day. As we couldn’t play at home, we decided to play overseas,” he added.

“Going into the SAFF Championships, we needed to play a strong side. Tajikistan are a very powerful side,” he maintained.

Tajikistan are presently ranked 106th in the FIFA World Rankings in comparison to India ranked 146th as per the latest July 2013 Rankings.

“Apart from the players travelling to Tajikistan we’ll probably be calling in extra players for the training camp in Bangalore prior to the SAFF Championships,” Koevermans informed. “We plan to travel to Kathmandu a bit early to allow everyone to acclimatise to the higher altitude.”

The dates for the Bangalore camp haven’t been finalised while the SAFF Championship kicks-off in Kathmandu on September 1.

“We may be calling in some new players whom I had planned to take to England but it didn’t happen. Hopefully, everyone stays fit and free from injuries,” he added.

(Edited AIFF Report)