MUSCAT, September 13 - Oman national futsal team will be back in action after a break due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and will begin their internal preparatory camp in Muscat on Tuesday. The head coach of the national futsal team Younis al Fahdi has announced the squad for an first preparatory camp after resuming the footballing activities. The camp is scheduled to take place from September 15 to October 4 in Muscat. The training camp will serve as a preparatory exercise for the team to the top assignment at the AFC Asian Futsal Championship in Kuwait.
The AFC announced on Thursday the new dates of the championship which will begin from December 2 to 13 instead of November.
The Sultanate futsal team players will be tested for COVID-19 on September 15 at Badr Al Sama Hospital according to the OFA medical protocol. After completion of 72 hours from the COVID-19 test, all the players who tested negative can resume the training from ground with full implementation of the medical protocol.
The national futsal team coached by the national coach Younis al Fahdi will begin by the individual training for the earlier weeks. Then, the team will move on to the smaller group training sessions until reaching the bigger technical and tactical training sessions. Prior each training session, all the players will be tested for the routine medical check up and any player have any symptoms of COVID-19 will be avoided from the training session.
In a previous interview to Oman Daily Observer, coach Younis al Fahdi, said the team will have more than ten preparatory games during September and October ahead of the Asian Championship assignment.
The friendlies will be against Kuwait, Thailand, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Egypt. The upcoming stage of the team’s preparation will depend on the domestic camps while the overseas camps may come in later stages.
Oman Futsal team members had trained remotely during the last period through using the “Zoom” application under supervision of coach Ricardo Silva.
The Sultanate futsal team’s fitness coach had delivered many sessions since last April. The technical staff focused on maintaining the fitness level of the players besides developing the strength and endurance skills.
The AFC Futsal Championship draw clubbed Oman 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, title holders 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.
The squad (probables): Hisham al Wahaibi, Abdulaziz al Raqadi, Moosa al Raqadi, Younis al Aweisi, Muhannad al Shibli, Essa al Balushi, Mohammed al Adawi, Loai al Wahaibi, Mutaism al Shamsi, Zamil al Balushi, Khalfan al Maawali, Samer al Balushi, Mohammed al Hasani, Ammar al Busaidy, Mansoor al Hadi, Essa al Jabri, Mohammed al Lawati and Mukhaled al Raqadi.
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