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Durand Cup 2024: Mohun Bagan Super Giant, East Bengal FC Drawn In Same Group

admin — Thu, 11 Jul 2024 13:35:49 +0000

Defending champions Mohun Bagan Super Giant and their archrivals East Bengal FC, the two finalists from the previous edition, have been drawn together in the same group as the group stage draw for the upcoming Durand Cup 2024 was unveiled on Thursday. The 24 teams from the ISL, I-League, international teams, and teams from the Armed Forces will fight it out in Asia’s oldest football tournament, scheduled to commence on July 27. Notably, international teams will also feature with Nepal’s Tribhuvan Army FC and Bangladesh Army Football Team, both returning from the previous edition.

This year, Jamshedpur and Shillong join Kokrajhar and Kolkata as host cities, with each hosting group stage fixtures. Kolkata, the main venue, will host three groups, while Jamshedpur, Shillong, and Kokrajhar will each host one group.

The tournament will follow a round-robin league format with knockout stages, culminating in the final at Kolkata’s Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan. In total, 43 matches will be played and the top teams from each group, along with the two best second-placed teams, will advance to the knockout phase.

Here are the groups for Durand Cup 2024:

Group A (Kolkata): Mohun Bagan SG, East Bengal FC, Indian Air Force FT, Downtown Heroes FC

Group B (Kolkata): Bengaluru FC, Inter Kashi FC, Indian Navy FT, Mohammedan SC

Group C (Kolkata): Kerala Blasters FC, Mumbai City FC, Punjab FC, CISF Protectors FT

Group D (Jamshedpur): Jamshedpur FC, Chennaiyin FC, Indian Army FT, Bangladesh Army FT

Group E (Kokrajhar): Odisha FC, NorthEast United FC, Bodoland FC, BSF FT

Group F (Shillong): FC Goa, Hyderabad FC, Shillong Lajong FC, Tribhuvan Army FC

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Jamshedpur, Shillong To Be New Venues For Durand Cup Beginning In Kolkata On July 27

admin — Tue, 02 Jul 2024 11:21:30 +0000

File image of Mohun Bagan players Anirudh Thapa and Jason Cummings.© X (Twitter)

Domestic season opener Durand Cup football tournament will be held from July 27 to August 31 across four venues with Indian Super League, I-League and other invitational teams competing in it. The 133rd edition of the Asia’s oldest tournament will have 43 matches to be played in a round-robin league-cum-knockout format, with the opening match and the final scheduled at the iconic Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan (VYBK) in Kolkata. The 24 participating teams will be divided into six groups. Eight teams — group toppers and two best second-placed sides — will qualify for the knockout stage.

Like last year, international teams are expected to participate this year too, the organisers said on Tuesday.

Continuing with its commitment to spread the tournament further into the East and North-East, two new cities — Jamshedpur and Shillong — have been added as host venues this year.

Matches will be held in Kokrajhar in Assam for the second consecutive year, besides Kolkata, which has been a host for the last five years.

Kolkata will host three groups while Kokrajhar, Shillong and Jamshedpur will host one group each.

ISL side Mohun Bagan Super Giant are the defending champions, having won the tournament for a record 17th time, the most by any team.

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AIFF Rejects Premier 1 Club License Of Jamshedpur FC, Odisha FC, Kerala Blasters And Hyderabad FC

admin — Fri, 17 May 2024 12:50:02 +0000

All India Football Federation’s (AIFF) Club Licensing Committee rejected the Premier 1 license of Indian Super League (ISL) clubs Jamshedpur FC, Odisha FC, Kerala Blasters and Hyderabad FC for the upcoming 2024-25 season. The clubs were found disobeying multiple ‘A’ criteria failures, making them ineligible for AFC Club competitions and the national competitions. The clubs, however, have options to seek an exemption to participate in the National competitions by May 22.

The committee was chaired by Girija Shanker Mungali which also included Anirban Dutta (deputy chairman), Ravishankar Jayaraman, and Yash K Nayak (members) met via video conferencing on May 15.

Punjab FC was the only club to fulfil AIFF’s criteria for the process and was granted a premier 1 club license for the 2024-25 season.

Indian Super League (ISL) current champion Mohun Bagan Super Giant and ISL Cup winner Mumbai City FC along with East Bengal, FC Goa, Bengaluru FC, Chennaiyin FC, NorthEast United FC and Mohammedan Sporting, the I-League champions 2023-24 who have secured promotion to the ISL 2024-25, received the license with sanctions.

“The Indian Club Licensing system is pivotal in maintaining the quality, professionalism, and infrastructure of football clubs in India. It is an annual process wherein clubs acquire the necessary license to partake in AFC and National competitions for each season. These licenses are categorised into ‘ICLS Premier 1’ for Indian Super League clubs and ‘ICLS Premier 2’ for I-League clubs,” the AIFF said in a release.

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Bengaluru FC Suffer Opening Day Defeat To Kerala Blasters FC In ISL

admin — Thu, 21 Sep 2023 17:20:21 +0000

It was a season-opener to forget for the former champions Bengaluru FC who suffered a 1-2 defeat to Kerala Blasters FC in the Indian Super League, on Thursday. Two defensive errors from Bengaluru (Veendorp OG 52′, Luna 70′) is what consigned Simon Grayson’s men to defeat. New signing Curtis Main, who was a second half substitute, scored a late goal (90′), but the Blues couldn’t stage the comeback they needed. The Blasters kicked off proceedings with Bengaluru fielding as many as four debutants in their eleven. Slavko Damjanovic, Jessel Carneiro, Keziah Veendorp and Ryan Williams got their first competitive minutes in a BFC shirt. Gurpreet Singh Sandhu led Bengaluru out in the absence of Sunil Chhetri, who is away on national duty to the Asian Games.

The Blues’ closest chance came in the 35th minute, when Naorem Roshan Singh’s long-distance effort caught Sachin Suresh off guard.

But the Kerala goalkeeper managed to parry it away for a corner, as both teams walked down the tunnel at half time with no goals to show for.

The start of the second half saw the momentum shift back Kerala’s way.

Peprah came close to scoring in the 52nd minute but Gurpreet managed to fist the ball out.

It was from the resulting corner that the hosts found the lead, with the ball coming off Veendorp’s head and past Gurpreet.

Grayson turned to his bench in the 65th minute to try and change things as Curtis Main, Javi Hernandez and Parag Shrivas came on for Aleksandar Jovanovic, Keziah Veendorp and Namgyal Bhutia.

Just when Bengaluru looked to brush away the setback, another error in defence — this time from Gurpreet — gifted Kerala their second goal of the night.

Picking up a pass from Damjanovic, the Bengaluru goalkeeper got a heavier touch to the ball than he would have liked. An onrushing Luna got to the ball in a flash, before rolling it into an empty net and making it 2-0.

Monirul Molla and Harsh Patre came on for Sivasakthi Narayanan and Rohit Kumar in the 77th minute of the game as Bengaluru looked to find a way back.

Main ate into Kerala’s lead late into the game with a simple finish, sparking some hope of a revival.

The fourth official added on seven minutes as Bengaluru continued their search for an equaliser, but it wasn’t to be for the Blues who now travel to Kolkata where they play Mohun Bagan Super Giant on Wednesday.

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AIFF Urges Indian Super League Clubs To Release Asian Games-bound Footballers

admin — Wed, 06 Sep 2023 13:30:07 +0000

The All India Football Federation has urged the 10 Indian Super League franchises to release players selected for the upcoming Asian Games, keeping the “national interest in mind”. The Hangzhou-bound 22-member Indian men’s squad has six players from Bengaluru FC, three from Mumbai City FC, while FC Goa, Mohun Bagan, East Bengal, Odisha FC, Kerala Blasters have two each. Punjab FC, Chennaiyin FC and Hyderabad have one each.

The Indian Super League start on on September 21, while the Asian Games begin a day after on September 23 in Hangzhou, China.

“We very much understand that this Asian Games is outside the FIFA window, and you are not obliged to release the players,” AIFF secretary general Shaji Prabhakaran wrote in a letter to the 10 ISL clubs.

“But we all have the responsibility towards the country to make India proud… As Indians we are obliged to make sacrifices for the country and, in this process, you have to take a decision by releasing the players considering the National interest in mind.” Making a special exemption, the Sports Ministry allowed both the men’s and women’s teams participation in the Asian Games, marking their return at the continental showpiece after nine years.

“We are hopeful that you will release these players in time for the full strength of team to be in Asian Games and stand with the country during the Asian Games,” Prabhakaran stated.

“We sincerely hope that you will stand with the country and make available these players which would be hailed by all the citizens of India.

“Your decision will take our beautiful game to the next level. We look forward for your cooperation and support in taking Indian football forward and your one step to release the players to be part of Asian Games will once again demonstrate our collaboration in shaping the future of football in India,” he added.

The Indian men’s team, ranked 99 in the FIFA rankings, is the second-best ranked team in Group A behind hosts China (No. 80). Myanmar (160) and Bangladesh (189) are the other two teams.

A total of 23 teams have been divided into six groups — five with four each and one (group D) with three.

Top two teams of each group and four best third-placed teams across all groups will make the pre-quarterfinals.

The Igor Stimac-coached side will begin its campaign against hosts China on September 19, followed by the matches against Bangladesh (September 21) and Myanmar (September 24).

The Indian men’s football team had won gold medals at the New Delhi 1951 and Jakarta 1962 Asian Games, while clinching a bronze at Bangkok 1970.

The 2023 Hangzhou Games will be the 16th Asian Games appearance for the Indian men’s team.

Indian Squad Goalkeepers: Gurpreet Singh Sandhu (Bengaluru), Gurmeet Singh (Hyderabad), Dheeraj Singh Moirangthem (FC Goa).

Defenders: Anwar Ali, Ashish Rai (Mohun Bagan), Sandesh Jhingan (FC Goa), Narender Gahlot (Odisha FC), Lalchungnunga (East Bengal), Akash Mishra (Mumbai City), Roshan Singh (Bengaluru FC).

Midfielders: Rahul KP, Jeakson Singh (both Kerala Blasters), Suresh Singh Wangjam (Bengaluru), Apuia Ralte (Mumbai City), Amarjit Singh Kiyam (Punjab), Naorem Mahesh Singh (East Bengal).

Forwards: Sunil Chhetri, Rohit Danu, Siva Sakthi Narayanan (all Bengaluru), Rahim Ali (Chennaiyin), Aniket Jadhav (Odisha), Vikram Partap Singh (Mumbai).

Head Coach: Igor Stimac.

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