Organisers keen to have India at Copa America: AIFF

Panaji: India are hoping to get an invitation from organisers of Copa America, the South American football championship starring powerhouses Brazil and Argentina, for the next edition after narrowly missing out on 2021 due to scheduling issues.

The Copa America – postponed last year due to the coronavirus pandemic -- is scheduled to kick off on June 11. Amazingly, India could have been one of the participants after being recommended by Australia as their replacement.

“There were two Asian teams, Qatar and Australia, invited for Copa America. Australia couldn’t make it due to various commitments. They actually then spoke to India and to CONMEBOL (South American Football Confederation), who were excited to get India. They were very interested in having us play,” All India Football Federation general secretary Kushal Das told TOI on Wednesday.

India, however, couldn’t confirm their availability after the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) postponed the Fifa World Cup qualifiers from March-April to June.

“There were scheduling issues. The Copa America is in June and we were trying to see if the qualifiers could be played earlier in March/April. But it didn’t work out for some of the countries (in the group) like Bangladesh and Afghanistan.

“Had the qualifiers been in March or April, it would have been a fantastic experience for our team. It’s a very difficult tournament, but for a young squad, this is what they require. I hope, as the organizers have indicated that they are interested in India, we can make it happen in the future,” said Das.

India coach Igor Stimac also confirmed the “chance” of playing at Copa America, alongside some of the world’s greatest players like Lionel Messi, Neymar, Luis Suarez and James Rodriguez.

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“We were all really excited. There was a chance for us to go there, instead of Australia. This would have been a wonderful experience. In the future, hopefully we will be invited,” said Stimac.

The decision to push the World Cup qualifiers to June means both Asian countries have now turned down the invitation. While Australia had made it clear quite a while ago, Qatar have also officially opted out.

Those in the know said the organisers are looking at the possibility of inviting two other teams to replace Australia and Qatar. Should they fail in their attempts, they will go ahead with 10 South American teams.

Had India replaced Australia, as they and the organisers wished, Stimac’s boys would have been rubbing shoulders with Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Bolivia and Paraguay in group A.

This edition of Copa America is due to be held in two countries for the first time in its 105-year history with Colombia and Argentina as hosts.