New Delhi, Jan 24 (IANS): Ahead of the AFC U-16 Finals in September in Malaysia, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) has arranged for a nine-month-long extensive exposure plan for the national team, it was announced on Wednesday.

Besides Dubai where the team is presently playing a series of friendly matches, the team, being coached by Bibiano Fernandes, will be travelling to Qatar, Japan, South Africa and Spain, among other countries.

Thanking the Sports Authority of India for its support, All India Football Federation General Secretary Kushal Das said: "I am extremely grateful to the SAI for supporting the exposure trips. We had chalked out a fool-proof plan and presented it to them after which they discussed and gave us a green signal."

"The All India Football Federation understands the importance of building the next generation of Indian football and after a heart-warming display of the U-17 National Team in the FIFA U-17 World Cup India 2017, we are hopeful the exposure tours will benefit the U-16 boys and make them more competitive in their quest to qualify for the next edition of the FIFA U-17 World Cup," he added.

This is the second successive time that the India U-16 team has made it to the finals of the AFC U-16 Championship and seventh time overall.

The boys achieved it in Nepal last year qualifying as one of the best second placed teams where they held mighty defending champions Iraq to a goalless draw.