New Delhi, June 22: Realising that India lacks world-class football facilities, including international standard stadia, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) has withrawn from formally bidding to host the 2011 AFC Asian Cup.

India had expressed its intention to host the top continental football event in the AFC Executive meeing in November last year but did not submit a 'definitive' bid as the deadline to do so expired yesterday.

''We have decided not to bid to host the 2011 edition of the AFC Asian Cup because we feel that we will not be able to meet the stringent requirements for infrastructure required by the AFC,'' AIFF Secretary Aleberto Colaco told UNI.

''For example the AFC requires two stadiums of international standards in each of the host cities and there have to be four host cities with one standbye,'' he added.

Under the AFC requirements, a host country should have stadia which provide single-seated arrangements for spectators in the whole of the stadium and not the concrete seating arrangements which most of the Indian stadia presently have.

Among the actively used football stadia in the country, only Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata, Nehru Stadiums in Margao and Chennai have such facilities which could pass muster of AFC requirements.

India entered the race by submitting 'declaration of interest' before February 9 deadline and crossed the deadline of April 1 for the bidding country to either confirm or withdraw their candidature.

It only withrew at the time of definitive bid which required bidding country to submit a signed Organising Association Agreement (OAA) and all bid documentation to the AFC under the terms of List of Requirements, which expired on June 21.

Meanhwile, Qatar had submitted its formal bid to host the event, two days before the deadline while three-times champions Iran, which hosted the tournament in 1968 and 1976, was to submit its bid.

The AFC Executive Committee will decide on the host country in its meeting in Jakarta on July 29 on the final day of AFC Asian Cup 2007 which is being co-hosted by Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand from July 7-29.

Qatar, which had earlier hosted the tournament in 1988, is in the West Asia Zone while Iran and India are in the Central and South Asia Zone.

Qatar has a football infrastructure that is considered to be among the best in the continent and even in the world and they showed it by successfully hosting the Asian Games in December last year.

Lack of football infrastructure had been India's problem for so many years, that too for a country which aspires to qualify for the World Cup by 2014. When FIFA President Sepp Blatter visited India in April, AFC chief Mohammed Bin Hammam, who accompaneid Mr Blatter, was shocked at the state of facilities at the three biggest clubs of Kolkata.

''If the conditions remained like this India will not qualify in the World Cup for another 100 years,'' he had said.

Blatter had also expressed disappointment at the dilipadated infrastructure which he saw at the Kolkata clubs.

Under the rotation policy of the AFC, the 2011 edition is to be hosted by a country from West Asia or Central and South Asia Zone.

India had never hosted the quadrennial tournament which began in 1956 in Hong Kong. It had taken part in the final round of the tournament twice -- in 1964 and 1984 -- out of earlier 13 editions and stood second behind Isreal in 1964.

Iran has hosted the tournament twice -- in 1968 and 1976 -- and had won it thrice -- 1968, 1972 and 1976. It also has the enviable record of continuous participation in the final round since 1968 edition.

Qatar had hosted the tournament in 1988 but had never won it earlier though it had taken part six times -- in 1980, 1984, 1992, 2000, 2004 and 2007.

UNI