Vietnam withdraw from AFC Futsal Championship

PETALING JAYA (Sept 18, 2002) - Southeast Asian nation, Vietnam, have withdrawn from the Asian Futsal Championship (AFC) in Indonesia from Oct 22-30. They will be replaced by Bahrain.

Vietnam said their decision to back out of the tournament was because they were facing difficulties in putting up a team for the tournament.

Vietnam were drawn in Group A with fellow Asean nations, Brunei and Thailand. The fourth team in the group are Iraq.

The Vietnam Football Federation's late withdrawal from the tournament will almost certainly lead to them being hauled up to face the AFC disciplinary committee.

Meanwhile, Bahrain, who will take over Vietnam's place in the group, will be making their debut in the Asian Futsal Championship.

Bahrain's decision to participate is mainly due to the fact that they are interested in raising the standard of the indoor version of the sport in the country ahead of the 2004 World Futsal Championship which they are hoping to host.