The Indian football fraternity and fans rose in jubilation on 19 May after it emerged that the Indian Under-17 football team convincingly defeated its Italian counterpart 2-0 in a practice match held in Italy’s Arezzo.
Except, this piece of news was not entirely correct. But even the All India Football Federation, along with the official Twitter handle of the senior Indian football team, partook in spreading wrong information.
But the side that India emerged victorious over was not the Italian national U-17 team – it was a representative team, including the young players from the Lega Pro and Lega Pro 2, which occupy the third and fourth tiers in the Italian league system respectively.
A clarification in this regard – that the team playing against India U-17 was a representative side of the league – was issued on the Lega Pro website, and also on the websites of two of its clubs, Parma and Albinoleffe. On the other hand, the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) did not refer to the match on their website at all.
With the U-17 World Cup to be held in India in October this year, the young Indian team is on an exposure trip. The team will play another match against the representative Italian Lega Pro team on 23 May.
Let’s see if the AIFF can avoid another gaffe like this one!
(Source: Hindustan Times)
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)