Kolkata : In a heartbreaking note, Indian Flag Football team had to pull out off the World Flag Football Championship 2024 in Finland due to visa & other technical issues.
The tournament is set to start from August 27-30.
Sandeep Chaudhari, secretary of AFFI, confirmed the news in an interview.
He cited technical issues between the host country and the tournament organizers which resulted in complications over visa approvals as the reason behind the withdrawal of the Indian team.
“There were some technical issues between the host country (Finland) and the managing partner. The host country was not organizing the event, it was rather done by an event management company. So we found it difficult to get the visas approved. We tried our best but we were asked to reapply for visas, and the process would have taken another month. So we had to pull out of the tournament,” he said.
“It’s not only about the visa. There were also some technical issues from the international organiser side, so we could not cope in time. There were a lot of technicalities involved from our side, also. We don’t want to blame it on someone else. Everyone tried their best to help us out”, he added.
After receiving no answer or reason from the Finland embassy for rejecting some of the team members’ visas, the AFFI members and players tried to re-apply, but the window was too short. It would take at least 30 days, which they didn’t have.
Flag Football will make it’s debut in LA Olympics 2028,so will India. This tournament could have been a big step towards the preparation.
“Morale is definitely down because everyone worked so hard. We were practising and supposed to have a closing camp also now. We accepted it was not in our hands. In preparation towards the 2028 Olympics, this was the first big tournament where the guys could have showcased their talent and known where they stand in the world,” Chaudhari said.
In 2021, India finished 20th at the world championship held in Israel. Last year India participated in in the inaugural Asia-Oceania Flag Football Championships in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
In 2025, India intend to host the 2nd edition of the Continental Championship as Chaudhari revealed.
He said, “We are trying to host it and have already forwarded our bid. It is in a very premature state, but to my knowledge, no one has the hosting rights yet. Come September, after this tournament, things will be clear.”
More the Indian teams play such tournaments, better the preparations for LA Olympics 2028. However, this time a big chance is missed.
