(AIFF Photo)

NEW DELHI: In a major boost to the India U-16 football team preparing for the prestigious AFC U-16 championship to be held in Malaysia in September, the junior boys have been invited by the West Asian Football Federation ( WAFF ) to participate in a five-nation U-16 tourney which will see the participation of Asian footballing powerhouses Iran and Japan, among others.

This is the first time that the WAFF, founded in 2001, has invited any age group team from India. It's been learnt that the All India Football Federation ( AIFF ) has accepted the invitation and the U-16 boys will be flying out to Jordan this weekend straight from Malaysia, where they played two international friendlies against the Malaysian U-16 national team and defeated them 2-1 in the final fixture.

The five-nation tournament, organised by the WAFF, will be played from August 1 to 9 and will have Iran, Japan, Jordan and Yemen as other competing nations. The tournament assumes significance as it will provide the U-16 boys great exposure ahead of the AFC U-16 championship to be held from September 20 to October 7 in different cities of Malaysia. The boys will leave for Kuala Lumpur on September 5.

If India manage to do well in the tournament and reach the semifinal stage, a difficult task in itself, then the U-16 boys will directly qualify for the FIFA U-17 World Cup, which is scheduled to be held in Peru in 2019.

