Bahrain withdraw from West Asian football title-defence

TDT | Manama                                        

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com   

Bahrain will not defend their title in the West Asian Football federation (WAFF) Championship. This is after the senior men’s national team have pulled out of the competition, which they won in its last edition in 2019 held in Iraq.

The decision has been confirmed by a team official, and it comes after the UAE recently apologised for being unable to host the tournament, which was originally scheduled to take place in March. The WAFF has yet to announce a replacement country to host the event.

According to the source, since the WAFF has been unable to find a new venue, the Bahrain Football Association has informed them of the national team’s withdrawal from the championship. The Bahrainis will instead look for opponents to play in international friendly games next month.

Despite the withdrawal, it is believed that should the WAFF tournament be moved to a later date that would be suitable for the national team, Bahrain could participate and defend their crown. The Bahrainis were crowned WAFF champions for the first time in the 2019 edition after defeating hosts Iraq 1-0 in an exciting final.

Isa Ali Mousa converted the winning goal. He struck in the 39th minute of play to help Bahrain not only clinch their historic first title in the regional competition, but also their maiden success under head coach Helio Sousa, who was also managing the senior men’s national team in his first major competition. The Bahrainis also received prize money of $100,000 along with their gold medals.