This Indian football season will start on 16th August with Durand Cup as a season-opener.Â
The 131st edition of the historic Durand cup is all set to start on the 16th of the next month. Durand Cup is the third-oldest football tournament in the world. Durand Cup is said to have been started by Colonial British in the city of Kolkata in the year 1888. it is also the oldest football tournament in Asia.
This edition of the Durand Cup will see the participation of 20 teams. All the clubs from ISL, the top five clubs from I-League, and four teams from the armed forces will participate in this season of the tournament.
Recently, the groups and fixtures for the Durand Cup have been announced.
Groups of the tournament
Group A is filled with three ISL clubs, an I-League club, and one team from the armed forces. The first group of the tournament has FC Goa, Jamshedpur FC, Bengaluru FC, I-league club Mohammaden Sporting and the Indian Air Force football team.
This group seems to be one of the toughest groups in the competition. Bengaluru FC and FC Goa look like favorites to enter knockouts from this group. All the fixtures of this group will be played in the ‘city of joy Kolkata. VYBK, Naihati Bankimanjali stadium and Kishore Bharati Krinangan are the venues chosen for this group.
Group B is clubbed with the Kolkata giants ATKMB and SC East Bengal. The rest of the group contains the former ISL champions Mumbai City FC, I-league debutants Rajasthan United, and the Indian Navy, football team. Both Group A and Group B are playing their games in Kolkata. ATK Mohun Bagan and Mumbai City FC are most likely to qualify for knockouts from this group.
Group C of the tournament has two South Indian rivals, an army team, and two North-Eastern rivals. The third group has ISL champions Hyderabad FC, two times ISL champions Chenniayan FC, Army Red, and two Northeastern I-League clubs Neroca FC and Trau FC. Group C fixtures are set to take place in the capital city of Manipur state Imphal. The venue for all the games is Khuman Lampak Main Stadium. Hyderabad FC and Chennaiyan FC appear that they will qualify for the knockouts of the tournament.
The fourth group of the tournament is Group D. In Group D Kerala Blasters has joined forces with the two East Indian ISL clubs Northeast United and Odisha FC. The other two slots are filled by Sudeva Delhi FC and Army Green FC. Group D will play all of their fixtures at the home of the highlanders Guwahati. All the games will be played in the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium. This group is the trickiest in this competition. It is very difficult to predict which two teams will reach the knockout stages of the competition. According to us, last year’s ISL finalists Kerala Blasters will top this group. Northeast United FC or Odisha FC, either one among them will make it to the knockouts of the tournament along with the Blasters.
Fixtures of the Tournament
Durand Cup will start with the most historic clash in Indian Football. It is one of the oldest derbies in Asia as well as world football. The tournament will kick off with the enthralling Kolkata Derby between ATK Mohun Bagan and East Bengal. This tournament will start on the 16th of August.
Group A fixtures
The fixtures of Group A will start on the 17th of August with Jamshedpur FC taking on Indian Air Force Team. The closing fixture of this group will see the Kolkata club Mohammaden Sporting taking on the Indian Air Force football team. All the matches will be held in Kolkata.
Group B fixtures
Group B will start with a banger of a game. The historic Kolkata Derby on August 16th will see fans for the first time for a derby after the pandemic. The closing game of this fixture is between Mumbai City FC and the Indian Air Force Team.
Group C fixtures
All the matches will be held in Imphal. This group will start with the Northeastern derby between Neroca FC and Trau FC. The group closer will see the South Indian club Chennaiyan FC facing Neroca FC.
Group D fixtures
All the games of this group will unfold in the home of the Highlanders, Indra Gandhi Athletic Stadium, and Guwahati with a cracking game between Odisha FC and Northeast United. The last game of this group is between Odisha FC and the Army Green football team.
Telecast and Streaming of the Tournament :
According to reports, the Sports 18 channel will telecast all the games. It is confirmed that the Bengali streaming app Adda Times will stream these games online.
