Durand Cup to be played in Kolkata until 2025
Durand Cup is the oldest club football tournament in Asia. It comprises Indian football clubs and will be hosted in Kolkata for five editions from 2021 to 2025.
FollowIn what comes as great news for Indian football fans, especially the ones in West Bengal, Asia’s oldest club football tournament, the Durand Cup would be hosted in Kolkata for the subsequent five editions, until 20215, starting this year. It would make it six editions in a row, with the 2019 edition also being played in Kolkata.
On Friday, the announcement was made in Kolkata that comprised government officials, including Bengal’s Sports Minister Aroop Biswas. He affirmed that this year’s tournament would be held with a limited number of crowds, keeping in mind the COVID-19 situation.
“The WB Govt. has allowed 50% capacity inside stadiums, but the Durand Cup tournament committee, in light of the pandemic, has decided to allow minimal attendance and then gradually towards the end of the tournament. If everything goes well, we will allow 50% attendance in compliance with government norms during the latter stages”, he said during the press conference in a release.
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The upcoming edition of the Durand Cup would be its 130th edition. The tournament gets underway from September 15 at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan (Saltlake Stadium), with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee inaugurating it.
A total of 16 teams are set to compete in the tournament. From the Indian Super League, Kerala Blasters, Bengaluru FC, FC Goa, Jamshedpur FC and Hyderabad FC are the teams that would be competing. Besides the Saltlake Stadium, matches would also be held in Mohun Bagan Club Ground and Kalyani Municipal Stadium Ground.
The tournament is the third-oldest club tournament globally, founded in 1888 after the English FA Cup (1871) and the Scottish Cup (1874). The 2019 edition, held in Kolkata for the first time, was won by Gokulam Kerala, with Mohun Bagan being the runner-up, as it was its maiden title, while it would be defending it this term.
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