Gokulam Kerala ruled out of AFC Women Club Championships, will return to India

23-member team, led by India captain Ashalata Devi, were left stranded in Tashkent for four days since arriving at the Uzbekistan following the FIFA ban on India

A “distraught” Gokulam Kerala women’s team will return home on Monday from Uzbekistan after it was removed from the AFC Women’s Club Championships following the FIFA ban on India.

The 23-member team, led by India captain Ashalata Devi, were left stranded in Tashkent for four days since arriving at the Uzbekistan capital on August 16, the day the news of the ban imposed on the AIFF by the world governing body FIFA reached India.

Gokulam, the Indian Women’s League champions, were to play against home side Sogdiana-W in Qarshi on August 23 and against Bam Khatoon FC of Iran in its next round-robin match on August 26.

“The FIFA and AFC should have been considerate, either the ban should have been after this championships or we should have been allowed to take part in it.”V. C. PraveenGokulam Kerala president

“Yes, it is confirmed. The sports ministry has told us that its request to FIFA and AFC to allows us play in the AFC Women’s Club Championships has been refused. So, we are not playing. The organisers have also told us that we can’t play,” Gokulam Kerala president V. C. Praveen told PTI.

“We were trying for the players to return home on Sunday but there is no flight from Tashkent to India. The earliest flight is on Monday, so we are trying for the players to return home on Monday or Tuesday,” he added.

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