Delhi loses bid to host AFC Challenge Cup

Though the AFC management is yet to send a final letter to Hyderabad as the chosen venue, it was learnt from an AIFF source that Hyderabad had been given the nod and AIFF general secretary Alberto Colaco was in meeting with officials in Kuala Lumpur.

“Hyderabad would be hosting the AFC Challenge Cup but we haven’t got any official letter from the AFC. The secretary is in Kuala Lumpur there and it was learnt from him that Hyderabad has been awarded the mega event,” the source said.

AIFF sources said Gachibowli, which was built for the Afro-Asian Games in 2003, scored over the Capital’s Ambedkar Stadium as it conformed to the AFC guidelines, including the requirement of seperate all seated arrangements for spectators for international ‘A’ matches.

India, who got the right to hold the prestigious event after Chinese Taipei failed to meet the AFC standards and Thailand expressed its inability to host it at the last minute, will also host the 2010 edition of the tournament.

National coach Bob Houghton had publicly stated that he would want the Cup to be held in Ambedkar Stadium where a full house crowd of nearly 20,000 cheered India to Nehru Cup victory in August last year.