Reports | Igor Stimac to excuse players affected with Covid-19 for 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers

The Indian football team are scheduled to play three of their remaining 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers in Qatar next month, after they were pushed back by a year owing to the Covid-19 pandemic. Sunil Chhetri and Co. will face Qatar on June 3, Afghanistan on June 7 and the last one against Bangladesh on June 11. 

However, with the Covid-19 second wave hitting India hard and the travel bans imposed, the Blue Tigers need to overcome several hurdles before they kick-off in Qatar. As per reports from Goal.com, head coach Igor Stimac has recently informed that he only wants players who are fit and ready to play voluntarily for the upcoming matches, considering the pandemic situation.

The Croat has decided to travel to Qatar without players who are not match fit or have been affected by the coronavirus themselves or any of their family members. For instance, Prabir Das is down with Covid-19, while goalkeeper Arindam Bhattacharya lost his mother to the deadly virus a few days back. 

However, that’s not the only situation on hands, as the entire squad has to present a negative RT-PCR report, taken within 48 hours of travel to Qatar, following which the players have to serve a 10-day mandatory quarantine period. The big challenge on AIFF (All India Football Federation)’s part remains to arrange for Visa and documentation of all the members before flying to the Gulf nation.