Panaji: India have signed an agreement with the governing body of world football to participate in the inaugural FIFA ASEAN Cup, which is expected to be played later this year.FIFA president Gianni Infantino had announced the launch of a new tournament for Southeast Asian countries on the sidelines of the 47th Asean Summit in Kuala Lumpur last October. Since then, not much was known about the tournament, but it has now emerged that the All India Football Federation (AIFF) has agreed to depute the national team.“AIFF has accepted FIFA’s invitation and signed the participation agreement. We are now awaiting more details,” AIFF deputy secretary general M Satyanarayan told TOI on Wednesday.According to reports, China have also been invited as FIFA ensures participation of the two most populous countries in the world.After being knocked out of the race to qualify for next year’s AFC Asian Cup 2027 in Saudi Arabia, India have struggled to find quality opposition for friendlies. Khalid Jamil’s side will play the Unity Cup in London later this month and test themselves against Jamaica, possibly even Nigeria if they win the semifinal. The AIFF, however, has no confirmation for the June window.At a time when India failed to qualify for the AFC Asian Cup 2027, the FIFA ASEAN Cup could provide the national team with much-needed international games during the Sept-Oct window. A record four Southeast Asian nations — Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and Singapore – have secured their places for the Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia. Two of the countries are ranked among the top 100.The tournament brings together all FIFA member associations from the Southeast Asia, in a format that follows in the footsteps of the FIFA Arab Cup.“We are delighted to continue to show our support to the ASEAN community with the launch of the tournament,” Infantino said during the announcement in Oct last year. “This will be a great addition to the regional football calendar, it will be impactful not only in the region, but it will allow the best players in the ASEAN region to shine on the global stage. Through the FIFA ASEAN Cup, we are uniting countries together, and this competition will be a huge success as it will help boost national team football in the ASEAN region and will support the development of our sport across all of Southeast Asia.”
