Courtesy: AFC

International futsal tournament in Iran from March 7

TEHRAN: An international invitational futsal tournament, featuring prominent clubs and national teams will be held here from March 7 to 12.

Teams from Asian champions Iran, Malaysia, Japan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Thailand will vie for the honours in the competition.

Shensa FC will represent Iran while Sharks FC (Japan), Ardus FC (Uzbekistan) and Energobank FC (Kyrgyzstan) will be the other teams.

Meanwhile, Malaysia has decided to send its national team to this tournament to gain vital experience ahead of the AFC Futsal Championship qualifier to be held in Kuantan next month.

Malaysia Coach P. Balakrishnan said: “We may not be playing against national teams but the club sides are of equal standards and they will provide us with quality sparring ahead of the AFC qualifiers.”

Malaysia, Turkmenistan, Cambodia, Maldives and Vietnam will play their qualifying rounds from the Asean Zone at the Sukpa Indoor Sports Complex in Kuantan from April 18-21. Macau will host the East Zone qualifiers from April 11-13 and they involve Hong Kong, DPR Korea, Korea Republic and Australia.

Only three teams from the qualifiers will advance to the tournament proper in Uzbekistan from May 21-27.

A total of 13 teams go directly into the finals based on the AFC rankings. They are Iran, Japan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Thailand, Kuwait, Tajikistan, China, Lebanon, Palestine, Iraq, Taiwan and Indonesia.



Posted by Luca Ranocchiari --> luca.ranocchiari@futsalplanet.com