Muscat, Jan 11 -
Oman futsal team returned to the action as they began an internal camp on Sunday at Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex.
The experienced national coach of the national futsal team, Younis al Fahdi, supervised the training sessions which will conclude on Friday.
Coach Younis is aiming to shape the players’ readiness for the forthcoming events including the AFC Asian Futsal Championship in Kuwait in March which will be delayed further due to the pandemic situation.
Also, the team is gearing up for the Asian tournament in Thailand in May. The fitness coach, Ricardo Da Silva, started the initial fitness and the related sessions to the physical sides in the preparatory camp and that will keep on going till the end the camp.
The team will line up many friendly matches in the upcoming gatherings as the plan featured some external camps including the overseas camp in Bahrain during February.
The Sultanate futsal team will take on Bahraini team in a preparatory match as part of the camp.
The initial external camp in Dubai in October last year is cancelled due to the pandemic and travel restrictions. The set and approved technical plan will feature series of domestic camp in the upcoming months until shaping the players for the top assignment which is represented by the AFC Asian Futsal Championship in Kuwait, the event which postponed many times due to COVID-19 outbreak, and rescheduled to take place in coming March and April.
The former Seeb captain called up for many probables including: Ammar al Busaidy, Hisham Al Wahaibi, Waleed al Farsi, Abdulaziz al Raqadi, Mohammed al Lawati, Samer al Balushi, Khalfan al Maawali, Mansoor al Hadi, Muhannad al Shibli, Essa al Balushi, Mohammed al Adawi, Loai al Wahaibi, Mutaism al Shamsi, Zamil al Balushi, Mukhaled al Raqadi, and Abdullah al Waihibi.
Oman will play in the AFC Futsal Championship in Group A besides Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Vietnam. Japan, one of the favourites, are clubbed in Group B alongside Lebanon, Kyrgyz Republic and Kuwait.
Group C comprised four-time runners-up Uzbekistan, Indonesia, Bahrain and China.
Iran, titleholders of the last edition, were grouped in Group D alongside Korea Republic, Saudi Arabia and Thailand. The upcoming edition of the Asian Futsal Championship will be the final stage of Fifa Futsal World Cup qualifying.
The top five teams at the AFC Asian Futsal Championship will represent the continent at the Fifa Futsal World Cup Lithuania 2020.
Adil Al Balushi
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