Indonesia allowed to withdraw; Uruguay meets Iceland

By A. Vinod

KOCHI, JAN. 10. The Kochi leg of the Sahara Cup, which is to get underway on Thursday, will have only six teams in the fray. This, after the All India Football Federation allowed Indonesia to withdraw from the event and thus settle the issue - concerning the participation of that team with foreign players amongst its ranks - on a honourable note.

However, the solution to the problem, which had been hanging fire through the last three days, could be hammered out only late towards Wednesday evening and after hectic confabulations between the AIFF top brass, the KFA officials and the Indonesian team management. Consequently, a new set of fixtures of this phase of the event was also released today.

With the Asian Football Confederation, to which the issue was referred to, allowing the AIFF to take a final decision since the Rs.20-crore tournament was an one-off event, the AIFF secretary, Mr. Alberto Colaco, had written to the Indonesian team manager, Mr. John Pardede, this morning that the National body was not in a position to allow participation of his team in direct contravention to rule six (referring specifically to the status of players which insisted that all participant-players should be subjects of their own) of the tournament laws.

On his part, Mr. Colaco said that the AIFF was willing to bear the extra-cost to fly out reinforcements provided that the Indonesians were agreeable to this suggestion and also promised to suitably amend the fixtures so that the two parties could solve the issue without embarrassment to either side. These promises, however, failed to break the impasse as Mr. Pardede, informed the AIFF that flying out reinforcements for the seven foreign players (all members of the club side, Harimau Tapanuli, which has arrived to represent Indonesia in the tournament) was virtually impossible at short notice.

It was thereafter that the Indonesian manager sought permission to withdraw his team from the tournament and this in turn was agreed to by the AIFF, a decision that has now reduced Group 'B', like the Group 'A' fixtures also to be played here, to a three- team affair comprising Uruguay, Iceland and India.

The better part of the story which eventually emerged today was that the time had finally arrived for the exact business to start; though Kochi will witness only seven matches including the January 18 quarterfinal in contrast to the 13 matches that had been initially scheduled.

The opening match of the leg will pit Uruguay, which arrived here this afternoon after four days of continuous travel, against Iceland, yet to acclimatise itself having made it here from sub- zero temperatures. Still, the contest should be a lively affair as it should provide the fans here with the opportunity to witness the classical European style locked against the natural flair of the Latin Americans.

Revised fixtures: Jan. 11.: Uruguay v Iceland (Group `B'), 5-30 p.m.; Jan. 12.: Bosnia v Bangladesh (Group `A'), 7-30 p.m.; Jan. 13.: India v Iceland (Group `B'), 5- 00 p.m.; Jan. 14.: Yugoslavia v Bosnia Group `A'), 5-30 p.m.; Jan. 15.: Uruguay v India (Group `B'), 5-30 p.m.; Jan. 16.: Yugoslavia v Bangladesh (Group `A'), 7-00 p.m.; Jan. 17.: Rest day; Jan. 18.: Quarterfinal (winner of Group `B' v runner-up of Group `A'), 7-00 p.m.

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