India have no idea about their proposed international friendly matches against Bangladesh and Pakistan at the Fulham Football Club ground in the UK next month,
according to a report of the Press Trust of India on Sunday.
The friendly matches have already created a buzz in the Bangladesh Football Federation and the enthusiasm was reflected on Fulham’s website which contained a post confirming the matches.
The club has announced the dates of the proposed matches India would be playing against Pakistan and Bangladesh at the Craven Cottage ground.
As per the club website, India will play against Bangladesh on June 1, followed by a match against Pakistan on June 4, before taking on Bangladesh on June 8.
However, the All India Football Federation was not aware of such a development.
‘No, it (tour) is not yet finalised,’ an unnamed AIFF official was quoted as saying by PTI.
‘(We are) yet to sign the contracts with CMG (Celebrity Management Group, a Kolkata-based agency),’ the AIFF official said.
But the English club have not only posted the match dates on its website, but also opened the ticket windows for the matches.
According to the club, the matches at Craven Cottage are open to fans and tickets are available online.
The Pakistan Football Federation had last month said that it was in no hurry to finalise their participation in the proposed tri-series.
‘We haven’t confirmed our participation yet. We’re still mulling their proposal,’ PFF secretary Col. Ahmed Yar Khan Lodhi has been quoted as saying in the Pakistan media.
CMG executive director Bhaswar Goswami had told PTI. ‘I can confirm that we have received confirmations from all the three federations for the proposed series.’
It may be recalled that a similar visit to the United Kingdom was planned in 2011, but was called off after both India and Pakistan pulled out in the last minute.
India had lost to Fulham’s first division side 0-2 way back in 2000.
-With New Age input
