Kolkata: Heavyweights Mohun Bagan will kick off the historic Durand Cup at the Saltlake Stadium here on August 2 after the third oldest competition football tournament of the world has been shifted out its traditional venue, New Delhi for the first time.
Returning after a three-year hiatus, the 129th edition of the tournament will feature six I-League and five Indian Super League teams, including defending champions of the respective tournaments -- Chennai City FC and Bengaluru FC.
"We took a three-year gap to make it more attractive. Kolkata is the mecca of Indian football. So, it's an effort to revamp the tournament and make it a pan-India affair," Lt Gen RP Kalita, Chief of Staff, HQ Eastern Command told reporters here.
Former I-League champions Minerva Punjab, however, will be missed from the 16-team tournament which will also feature second division I-League team Mohammedan Sporting.
"I spoke to (Minerva) owner Ranjit Bajaj. They were 10th in the I-League table. We were initially planning to get top six teams from the I-League," he said.
From ISL, Kerala Blasters too will not be taking part and the Indian Army, the organisers of the meet, said they have roped in Gokulam Kerala FC as a replacement.
CONFIRMED: The 2019 #DurandCup group fixtures. pic.twitter.com/eh9PQtYZ9z— durandcup (@thedurandcup) July 17, 2019
The ISL franchises may not send full strength teams for the tournament.
"We spoke to the teams as well as with (All India Football Federation president) Praful Patel. There are some issues with the transfer window. The teams assemble the team by August end or September," Kalita said.
"We couldn't further delay the tournament as it would have clashed with the Calcutta Football League. So we are happy that the teams are coming and the tournament will happen," he added.
The Indian Army will feature two teams -- Army Red and Green. Besides, there will be a team each from Indian Air Force and Indian Navy.
16 teams will be divided into four groups in the league stage and all the group winners will qualify for the semifinals which will be held in Salt Lake Stadium on August 20.
It's a wrap... graced by Chief guest Arup Biswas (Sports Minister), Smt Neelam Meena (Sports Secretary), along with top ranking officials from the Indian Army, Navy, and Air Force.#DurandCup pic.twitter.com/qR0oqIbKEW— durandcup (@thedurandcup) July 17, 2019
The tournament will be played across five venues of the state -- three in Kolkata and two each in Kalyani and Siliguri.
Teams:
Group A: East Bengal, Army Red, Jamshedpur FC, Bengaluru FC
Group B: Mohun Bagan, Mohammedan Soprting, ATK, Indian Navy
Group C: Chennai City FC, Real Kashmir, FC Goa, Army Green
Group D: Chennaiyin FC, Gokulam Kerala, TRAU, Indian Air Force
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