The Indian national team are scheduled to play two 2019 Asian Cup qualifiers before the end of the year. The first match being against Macau on October 11th followed by Myanmar tie on November 14th in Bengaluru.
Stephen Constantine and his crew will assemble on September 28th in Mumbai for a camp before they head to Bengaluru a few days before the game.
Indian Super League (ISL) clubs would have commenced their pre-season around the last week of September and in that case, they have been instructed to plan in a manner that the national team players are released on time for the camp in Mumbai.
The next international matchday window is from November 6th until the 14th and the ISL clubs would once again have to release the players despite the fact that the league is expected to kick-off on November 17.
Club coaches need to prepare and adjust according to the international calendar however, there are no international games after November until mid-March 2018.
Meanwhile, the international friendly against Palestine which was scheduled for October 2 has been cancelled. It is believed that although coach Constantine was the one who picked the opponent, he wanted to have a longer camp before the said match as most of the players are in pre-season mode.
“There is no question of India shying away from playing opponents such as Palestine. In fact the opponent was chosen in consultation with the coach. However, since most players haven’t begun their pre-season, a little longer camp would have helped the coach get the players to the desired levels,” informed an All India Football Federation (AIFF) official.
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