Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Kuala Lumpur: AFC Futsal Club Championship reigning champions Sanaye Giti Pasand are in the process of getting three extra national players as part of their preparation for this year’s edition in Nagoya, Japan.
The current Iranian Futsal Super League champions were drawn into Group B alongside Ardus of Uzbekistan, Thailand’s Chonburi Bluewave and Al Sadd from Qatar during an official draw in the Malaysian capital on Friday for this year’s finals.
Their group promises to offer an exciting affair as the draw set them up into a renewal of rivalries with Ardus whom they beat 2-1 in the final of last year’s competition in Kuwait.
Group A meanwhile sees hosts and 2011 champions Nagoya Oceans battling out against Shenzen Nanling Tielang of China, Vietnam’s Thai Son Nam and Al Sadaka from Lebanon.
Giti Pasand team manager Mohammad Hossein Araghizadeh (pictured) has told The-AFC.com after the draw that the club is trying to get the services of three more national players to strengthen their squad.
Nagoya Oceans area already ahead in new sign-ups having hired three young national players recently to beef up their squad for this year's competition.
“The bone and skeleton of the team is still very much the same for this year,” he said. “However the player transfer window is still open and we haven’t yet finished yet finalising our squad.
“We want to have three extra national players but we can’t name them yet. Hopefully they will give the team further boost for this year’s competition.
“We will try our best to defend our title and I believe our group is tougher than the other group, Group A. Last year’s runners-up (Ardus) are in this group. Al Sadd are also going to a tough opponent because we don’t know much about them but we will definitely study them. As for Chonburi, we know well their style of play.
“All in all, we will be all-out to win this competition.”
Giti Pasand will kick off their campaign against Al Sadd in the second match of the competition’s opening day on August 27.