Peeved at the decision of the organisers to advance the LG Cup in Vietnam, from September to August, India has decided to pull out of the coming edition of the tournament, where it recorded its only major international triumph in three decades last year.
"We have decided not to participate as the preponement of the tournament does not leave much time for adequate preparation of our team because of the domestic calendar," All India Football Federation president Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi said on Tuesday.
The AIFF has intimated its decision to its marketing agent, Strata.
Dasmunsi had earlier said that the AIFF is making efforts to send National Football League champions East Bengal to the tournament, but remained silent on the issue today.
Referring to the SAAF Cup earlier this year, where India finished a poor third, Dasmunsi said "We don't want to field an underprepared team and suffer humiliation once again. At Dhaka, we suffered because of wrong planning.
"We held only a short duration camp which did not do any good to our boys, who were fatigued and carried injuries from constant club engagements," he said.
Instead, the AIFF is planning to organise several practice matches against Saudi Arabia, Thailand, Iran and Qatar in the lead-up to the Afro-Asian Games in October-November, he said.
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