Iran to compete in int'l futsal games

PTV - The Iranian national futsal team is to play against Tajikistan, China, and Kuwait in group D of the 2008 Asian Futsal Championship.

The drawing for the 10th AFC Futsal Championship 2008 Finals was held at 1400 hrs (local time) at the Radisson Hotel, Bangkok, Thailand, on Friday.

The 16 teams, divided to four groups of four teams each, will take part in the championship, which will be held in Bangkok from May 11-18, 2008.

Kyrgyzstan, Thailand, Iraq, and Indonesia will compete with each other in group A. Japan in group B will compete against Australia, Turkmenistan, and Taipei. Uzbekistan, Lebanon, North Korea, and Malaysia are in group C.

Iran won the last AFC Futsal Championship, which was held in Japan in 2007.

The top four teams in Bangkok will represent Asia at the FIFA Futsal World Cup in Brazil in October 2008.

Futsal is an indoor version of association football. Its name is derived from the Portuguese futebol de salao.