AIFF may order India to pull out of ASEAN Cup to play Vinicius Jr’s Brazil in a friendly

The AIFF is reportedly considering to not send the senior team for the ASEAN cup and instead play the friendly match against BrazilHere’s why

Published: August 12, 2026, 4:09 PM IST

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Khalid Jamil, Head Coach, Senior Indian Men’s National Football Team; Naushad Moosa, Head Coach, Indian U23 Men’s National Football Team; Crispin Chettri, Head Coach, Senior Indian Women’s National Football Team; Joakim Alexandersson, Head Coach, Indian U20 & U17 Women’s National Football Teams; and AIFF Vice President N.AHaris during a press conference of AIFF, in Bengaluru, Friday, September 19, 2025(IANS)

The Indian Football team is facing a massive scare at the moment as they are now contemplating whether they should feature in the upcoming ASEAN tournament or play the high profile friendly game against five-time World Champions Brazil later this year in October at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan (Salt Lake Stadium) in Kolkata.

It was earlier this month when the All India Football Federation confirmed that the Blue Tigers would host Brazil for a blockbuster friendly gameThis would be the first time that the two nations would lock horns in a competitive 90-minute game but just as it seemed that things were going smoothly, a new problem has emerged in front of the AIFF.

The main reason behind this issue is the clash of schedule between the India vs Brazil friendly and the first-ever ASEAN Cup, organized by FIFAThe The tournament will feature three group stage matches and the finale of this inaugural edition is on the same day as the friendly, which is Saturday, October 3.

Now comes the major dilemmaEven if the AIFF can send two different teams for the fixtures, it cannot due to the tight rules and regulations in the ASEAN cupFIFA will not allow nations to field U-23 or second string teams for the tournamentTherefore, the apex Indian governing body cannot register two different squads for the matches.

But there has to be a solution right? The AIFF is reportedly considering to not send the senior team for the ASEAN cup and instead play the friendly match against BrazilWhy? It’s very simpleThe commercial appeal of the match is much larger than the one organized by FIFA.

AIFF knows that it can generate massive revenue by hosting the South American giants, who bowed out of the 2026 FIFA World Cup from the Round of 16Whether through ticket sales or online broadcast, the Indian body wants to cash in on this opportunity of a lifetime but the same cannot happen if the Blue Tigers participates in the ASEAN cup.

But there is another problemRegardless of whether they proceed to the knockout stage of the competition or not, the Indian team will get to play at least three games in the group stages whereas the Brazil friendly is only a one-off game.

That is why, the AIFF is now internally discussing about hosting two more nations that featured in the 48-team World Cup last monthYet, there is fear about the Indian football body facing possible sanctions or fines for late withdrawal from ASEAN cup.

As of now, the AIFF is working hard to find ways to maximize match exposure for the senior side for the expanded October international window.