The Indian Women’s Team will be travelling abroad in October on an exposure tour as a part of their preparation for the AFC Women’s Asian Cup, which is set to begin in India from next year. Earlier, Head coach Thomas Dennerby had stressed on the importance of playing competitive matches in their preparation for the continental tournament. Now, the Indian football team is set to leave for UAE on Thursday, September 30, where they will play two friendlies against the United Arab Emirates and Tunisia.
After the UAE, the Indian Women’s Team will be travelling to Bahrain to play two more friendlies against Bahrain and Chinese Taipei.
Head Coach Thomas Dennerby stated, "Besides the four matches against UAE, Tunisia, Chinese Taipei and Bahrain, we also have two confirmed matches against two Swedish premier league teams. We are in the process of sorting out the travel protocol to the country as entry of Indian citizens to Sweden is still not open yet."
Further, he said, "I appreciate the efforts of the AIFF in finding us teams willing to play matches against us under such circumstances. We have been training in Jamshedpur for a month, in our quest to prepare for the AFC Women’s Asian Cup India 2020. Unfortunately, the current pandemic situation is tough and the reality is that there are different quarantine restrictions in different countries which kills many options for the Indian teams as entry for Indians in some countries is either still not yet open, or involves a major quarantine period."
Additionally, the coach expressed, "The matches in UAE and Bahrain will allow us to judge ourselves where we stand against some good competitive opponents. Teams need to build up their defence, and also the build-up process, and all of that is judged in an international match. It’s difficult to arrange such things during a pandemic, and it has been very helpful to have the facilities to train in Jamshedpur. The Jharkhand Government has left no stone unturned in providing us with the necessary facilities, and we are all thankful for that. I hope with the correct mixture of training and friendlies against quality opponents, we can be more than ready for the Asian Cup."