India gets wildcard entry for U-17 Futsal World Cup

India is among 12 nations taking part and is drawn in Zone A with Paraguay, Catalonia and Kazakhstan. Zone B will have Colombia, Belgium, Brazil and Australia. Zone C will have Argentina, Uruguay, Morocco and Curazo.

The Futsal Association of India (FAI) will hold the U-17 Futsal nationals at Haryana from June 14-16, after which the probables for the Paraguay event will be shortlisted.

India will make its maiden appearance in the U-17 Futsal World Cup next month in Paraguay, after being invited by the sport’s governing body, Association Mundial de Futsal (AMF). The competition will be held from July 11-20.

India is among 12 nations taking part and is drawn in Zone A with Paraguay, Catalonia and Kazakhstan. Zone B will have Colombia, Belgium, Brazil and Australia. Zone C will have Argentina, Uruguay, Morocco and Curazo.

The Futsal Association of India (FAI) will hold the U-17 Futsal nationals at Haryana from June 14-16, after which the probables for the Paraguay event will be shortlisted. Mumbai will host a training camp from June 23-July 5.

Rolando Juan Alarcon Rios, AMF President said: “We are delighted to welcome India as one of the wild card entries.” FAI President, Namdev Shirgaonkar, said: “We thank the AMF for extending an invitation to India to compete in one of its marquee tournaments.”