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Dempo players return for National camp
While Bhaichung Bhutia has gone back to Kolkata, the Goan club had also threatened not to release it's players only to retract at the last moment, reports Jaydeep Basu.
The preparatory camp of the Indian football team for the one-match tour of Kuwait will begin in New Delhi on Thursday, but there's already been a lot of drama over the release of players by the clubs.
While Bhaichung Bhutia has gone back to Kolkata on being told by East Bengal, Goa's Dempo Sports Club had also threatened not to release their players only to retract at the last moment.
So much so, that two Dempo footballers, who were in New Delhi to play for Goa in the ongoing Santosh Trophy, were told by their club officials to return to Delhi and join the camp even after they left the Capital on Tuesday morning.
Dempo, according to All India Football Federation (AIFF) sources, wrote a letter to the federation through the Goa Football Association that they would only release their two players — RC Prakash and Sameer Naik — only after the Durand Cup, which ends on November 10. India play Oman in their last World Cup qualifier on November 17.
Quoting FIFA regulations, Dempo argued that since the Indian team will only play a 'friendly' against Kuwait, the club cannot be forced to sent players for the camp. Accordingly, their two players left for Goa along with the state team.
