DUSHANBE, August 11, 2008, Asia-Plus – The 2008 Asian Football Federation (AFC) Challenge Cup and third-place playoff marches will be played at the Ambedkar Stadium in Delhi on Wednesday, according to the AFC official website.
After inspecting the stadium in the Indian capital on Sunday, AFC decided to shift both the matches to Ambedkar Stadium.
Now, the final between hosts India and defending champions Tajikistan will be played at 1900 hours, preceded by the third-place playoff between DPR Korea and Myanmar at 1600 hours. The shift in the venue was necessitated after incessant rains in the southern Indian city of Hyderabad turned the ground unplayable.
We will recall that Tajikistan beat DPT Korea 1-0 at the Gachibowli Stadium on August 7. Jumakhon Muhiddinov netted the only goal six minutes before half-time to allow Tajikistan the opportunity to replicate their success of 2006.
On August 3, Tajikistan defeated Afghanistan 3-0 on August 3, and the victory sent the defending champions through to the semi-final as runners-up behind India. Tajik soccer players played their first game with Turkmenistan on July 30 — 0-0. The second game with hosts that was held on August 1 also ended in a draw – 1-1.
The 2008 AFC Challenge Cup football tournament is hosted by India from July 30 to August 10, 2008. The winners of the 2008 and 2010 competitions will qualify for the Asian Cup 2011. This competition is exclusive to the lower ranking Asian nations. However, India and Bangladesh have again been invited for the 2008 tournament from the middle tier of nations, along with North Korea and Laos.
