NEUFC Will Begin Durand Cup Campaign Today In Guwahati | Check Details
Guwahati based NorthEast United Football Club (NEUFC) will begin its campaign in the prestigious Durand Cup against Odisha on Wednesday.
The match will be played at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium at Sarusajai in Guwahati. It will begin from 5.30 pm.
The oldest football tournament in Asia, Durand Cup was launched in the year 1888. This year the tournament will be held across three states.
As many as 20 teams are taking part in the competition including 11 teams from the Indian Super League (ISL), five teams from the I-League and four teams from the Indian Armed Forces.
The 131st edition of the tournament kicked-off yesterday with Mohammedan SC defeating FC Goa by three goals to one at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata. The final of the tournament will be played at the same venue on September 18.
The matches will be played out in five venues across three states. The venues selected for the tournament are Salt Lake Stadium, Naihati Stadium and Kishore Bharati Stadium in West Bengal, Khuman Lampak Stadium in Manipur’s Imphal and Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium in Assam’s Guwahati.
The 11 ISL teams taking part in the tournament are ATK Mohun Bagan, Bengaluru, Chennaiyin, East Bengal, FC Goa, Hyderabad, Jamshedpur, Kerala Blasters, Mumbai City, NorthEast United and Odisha.
In addition, the five I-League sides are Mohammedan, NEROCA, Rajasthan United, Sudeva Delhi and TRAU, while the four armed forces teams are Army Green, Army Red, Indian Air Force and Indian Navy.
The 20 teams have been divided into four groups with Group A comprising of Bengaluru, FC Goa, Indian Air Force, Jamshedpur and Mohammedan. Group B consists of ATK Mohun Bagan, East Bengal, Mumbai City, Indian Navy and Rajasthan United.
Group C has been made up of Chennaiyin, Hyderabad, NEROCA, TRAU and Army Red. Northeast United FC has been paired alongside Kerala Blasters, Odisha, Sudeva Delhi and Army Green in the Group D.
In the long and illustrious history of the Durand Cup, Mohun Bagan and East Bengal have stood out as the most successful clubs with 16 titles to their name each.