AIFF announces Rs 30 lakh cash awards for Indian Team

New Delhi, Aug 14 (UNI) The All India Football Federation (AIFF) and sports broadcaster ESPN today announced cash awards of Rs 15 lakh each for the Indian team for their victory in the AFC Challenge Cup 2008.

AIFF President Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi met the players this morning and congratulated them for the victory.

He also presented a cheque of Rs 50,000 each to the 23 players, and six support staff (two assistant coaches, one goalkeeper coach, team manager, a doctor and a physio).

Dasmunshi also presented a Rs 1akh cheque to head coach Bob Houghton.

''The AIFF President congratulated all the players, the coach and the support staff for the historic win yesterday. He expressed happiness that India qualified for the elite Asian tournament in 2011 after 1984,'' an AIFF source said.

India defeated defending champions Tajikistan by a convincing 4-1 margin to win the inaugural AFC Challenge Cup yesterday.

With this win, the Indian team has also qualified for the Asia cup after a gap of 24 years.

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