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AIFF Youth Cup to kick-off on May 15

AIFF Youth Cup 2016

Keen on providing exposure to the India U-16 national squad who are preparing for the FIFA U-17 World Cup India 2017, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) is organising an International Youth Tournament, the AIFF Youth Cup, in Goa with participation of teams from various continents.

The tournament, the first of its kind ever to be held in India will see five nations – United States of America, Korea Republic, Tanzania and Malaysia along with hosts India – locking horns for the top honours.

All five teams would be playing against each other with the top two making it to the Final. All matches are to be played at the Tilak Maidan Goa.

Kushal Das, General Secretary, AIFF highlighted that the purpose of the tournament is “get a sense of how the U-16 team is shaping up.”

“The purpose of the AIFF Youth Cup is to get a sense of how the U-17 World Cup is shaping up. The AIFF has facilitated a number of exposure tours for them in the past few months and we will continue to do so,” he told AIFF Media.

“The tournament will provide us further clarity of what we need to improve further,” he added.

Goa will also be the host of the AFC U-16 Championship Finals, which are to be held from September 15 to October 2, 2016. The draw for the 2016 AFC U-16 Championship is slated to be held in Goa on May 26.

India despite being the hosts had qualified for the Finals on merit by basis of their performance in the AFC U-16 Championship Qualifiers in Tabriz in September 2015. The four semifinalists from the AFC U-16 Championship Finals will gain a direct entry to the FIFA U-17 World Cup India 2017.

The fixture for the AIFF Youth Cup is as follows:

May 15: Tanzania vs USA (16.00 IST).
May 15: India vs Malaysia (20.00 IST).

May 17: India vs Tanzania (16.00 IST).
May 17: Malaysia vs South Korea (20.00 IST).

May 19: South Korea vs Tanzania (16.00 IST).
May 19: USA vs India (8pm).

May 15: USA vs South Korea (16.00 IST).
May 15: Tanzania vs Malaysia (20.00 IST).

May 23: Malaysia vs USA (16.00 IST).
May 23: South Korea vs India (20.00 IST).

May 25: Third Place play-off (16.00 IST)
May 25: Grand Finale (20.00 IST)

(Report courtesy AIFF Media)