Dennerby names 23-member Indian women's football team to travel abroad for friendlies against UAE, Bahrain

By: WE Staff | Monday, 27 September 2021

After setting up camp in Jharkhand for nearly a month, the Indian women’s football team will travel abroad as part of their preparation for the AFC Women’s Asian Cup, which is planned in India next year.

Earlier, head coach Thomas Dennerby had emphasized the importance of playing competitive matches in their preparation for the continental tournament. The Indian team is prepared to leave for UAE on September 30, where they will play two friendlies against Tunisia and the United Arab Emirates. After this, the Indian women team will travel to Bahrain to play two more friendlies against Chinese Taipei and Bahrain.

“Besides the four matches against UAE, Tunisia, Chinese Taipei and Bahrain, we also have two confirmed matches against two Swedish premier league teams. We are in the process of sorting out the travel protocol to the country as the entry of Indian citizens to Sweden is still not open yet,” head coach Thomas Dennerby stated.

“I appreciate the efforts of the AIFF in finding us teams willing to play matches against us under such circumstances,” he added.

“We have been training in Jamshedpur for a month, in our quest to prepare for the AFC Women’s Asian Cup India 2020. Unfortunately, the current pandemic situation is tough and the reality is that there are different quarantine restrictions in different countries which kills many options for the Indian teams as the entry for Indians in some countries is either still or not open, or involves a major quarantine period,” Dennerby expressed.

“The matches in UAE and Bahrain will allow us to judge ourselves where we stand against some good competitive opponents. Teams need to build up their defence, and also build-up process, and all of that is judged in an international match,” the coach expressed.

“It’s difficult to arrange such things during a pandemic, and it has been very helpful to have the facilities to train in Jamshedpur. The Jharkhand Government has no stone unturned in providing us with the necessary facilities, and we are all thankful for that,” he said. “I hope with the correct mixture of training and friendlies against quality opponents, we can be more than ready for the Asian Cup.”