I-League outfit Gokulam Kerala to participate in Durand Cup
The southerns endured a difficult I-League campaign last season.
Gokulam Kerala FC will take part in the 129th edition of Durand Cup to be held in West Bengal from 2nd August onward. Gokulam are among six I-League clubs invited for the tournament. The league-cum-knockout tournament will be held in Kalyani, Silguri and Kolkata in West Bengal and ends on August 24.
Six Indian Super League clubs will also take part in the prestigious tournament organized by Services Sports Control Board. The other four teams in the tournament will be fielded by the Army, Navy, and Air Force. Army will have two teams, Army Red and Army Green.
The teams will be divided into four groups and the clubs that finishes first and second in each group will progress into the quarterfinals of the tournament.
Durand Cup is the oldest football tournament in Asia and was started by the British Army in 1888.
“Durand Cup is a prestigious tournament and there were no second thoughts to participate when we got the invite. Already we are on verge of completing our transfer targets and our preseason will start by July 15. We have high hopes on the squad and we will be aiming for top honors in the historic tournament,” said Gokulam Kerala FC president VC Praveen.
The Malabarians had a disappointing I-League campaign last time out, finishing ninth in the league table. They ended the season with only three wins and eight draws, managing only 17 points.
It will be a great opportunity for Gokulam Kerala to bounce back and start the new season on a high. The South Indian outfit will face top Indian sides in the Durand Cup, which will only help them improve their side for the new season. A good showing at the Durand Cup will set the platform for the team in the upcoming league season.
It would be a derby in the final of the Zee Bangla Football League, with EB and MB squaring off against each other on 23 June at the East Bengal football ground. EB defeated Aryan FC 2-0 in the semi-finals today, while MB notched up a 1-0 victory against Adamas University 24 Parganas (N) Masters The champions would be awarded 50 lakhs, while the runner-up would get 30 lakh. The best goalkeeper, best footballer and the top scorer of the tournament would each get a prize money of 2 lakh each. The best footballer would be sent for a three-week training to Manchester United and Leeds academy
(a) Durand Cup will be played from 02 to 24 August 2019.
(b) 16 Teams, 6 from ISL and 6 from I League and Four from the Defence Services will compete in a League cum Knock Out format of consisting of 4 Groups of 4 Teams each.
(c) Venues for the same will be Kolkata, Kalyani and Siliguri.
(d) Kolkata venues will be Stadiums of East Bengal, Md Sporting and Mohun Bagan and YBK stadium.
(d) Tournament commands a Prize Money of Rs 75 Lakhs.
(e) The Tournament has complete enthusiastic support of the State Govt.
(f) It has been scheduled in consultation and support of the AIFF and FSDL.
The final of the Zee Bangla Football League was abandoned when a skirmish broke out in the ground in the last quarter of the match. MB was leading 2-1 at that time. EB was leading in the first half though a penalty goal scored by Manichand Singh. There was a simmering tension regarding this penalty and play had to stopped for 5 mins due to ruckus created by MB supporters. When MB's Koushik Santra scored the winning goal through a penalty, EB supporters started pelting bricks, water bottles, deuce balls in the ground. The game could not be started due to lack of safety measures. In the recent past, ugly spats between the fans of the two clubs during the youth derbies has often taken a serious turn. Supporters should learn to draw the thin line between passion and belligerence. Also enough security personnel should be deployed to avoid such untoward incidents. Overall not a good advertisement for Bengal football.
BTW, what's this? Is this a football tournament or a reality show? Popular Hindi film songs blaring just before the kick-off of the final of a tournament, even when the players are practicing? Where does this happen in India? As I said, the whole thing reeks of unprofessionalism. If Zee Bangla wanted a promotion of their channel, they could have done it in some other way rather than reducing a football tournament to a farce!! It's an insult to the young footballers who wanted to showcase their talent and the genuinely passionate football fans of Bengal who were eager to see some good football.
Zee Bangla Football League: The farce that was the East Bengal vs Mohun Bagan U-19 final
The new season at Kolkata maidan kicked-off with a U-19 Kolkata Derby as arch-rivals East Bengal and Mohun Bagan locked horns in the final of Zee Bangla Football League held at the East Bengal club ground.
Both the youth teams had won all their matches in the league stage and were ready to face each other in the grand final of the tournament hosted by Zee Group and in association with the Indian Football Association (IFA).
Apparently, to increase the entertainment value of the tournament, the organisers came up with an out-of-the-box idea of dividing the matches into four quarters of 15 minutes each.
East Bengal were the more dominant side in the first three-quarters of the match. East Bengal took the lead via a penalty goal at the stroke of half time. Star player Manichand Singh, who has been promoted to the senior team this season, scored from the spot in the 30th minute.
The Red and Golds colts could have buried the game in the third quarter of the match itself had they been clinical in front of the goal. The home side failed to tap in two golden opportunities.
Bagan took advantage of East Bengal’s complacency and scored the equaliser at the beginning of the fourth and final quarter. Striker Koushik Santra converted a simple header from a corner to restore parity in the game.
In the 50th minute of the match, East Bengal goalkeeper Ayon Roy committed a silly foul on Mohun Bagan’s Deep Saha inside the box and gave away a penalty. Koushik completed his brace from the penalty spot to give the away side the lead.
There was plenty of drama that unfolded thereafter as the home fans were unhappy with the referee’s decision to award a penalty. The supporters started hurling bottles onto the pitch, targeting the match officials. The referee immediately stopped the game and it never restarted due to security concerns.
The fate of the match will be decided by a committee formed by IFA and organisers Zee’s officials as suggested by the IFA secretary Utpal Ganguly.
On the chaos that ensued, Ganguly said, “Whatever happened was very unfortunate. The game should have continued. I also feel that more security should have been provided. I had told the organisers to conduct the final at a neutral venue but they chose to go ahead with the East Bengal ground.
“A final decision on the match will be taken by a committee comprising of representatives from IFA and Zee.”
This competition was an entertainment extravaganza which had very little football on it. The organisers focused more on the on-field drama and showmanship rather than concentrating on organising a serious football tournament.
Kolkata Derby is all about emotions of the fans of both sides and it has invited controversy on multiple occasions in the past. Hence it was highly irresponsible from the side of the organisers to not think about safety and security in such a high voltage match.
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I-League outfit Gokulam Kerala to participate in Durand Cup
The southerns endured a difficult I-League campaign last season.
Gokulam Kerala FC will take part in the 129th edition of Durand Cup to be held in West Bengal from 2nd August onward. Gokulam are among six I-League clubs invited for the tournament. The league-cum-knockout tournament will be held in Kalyani, Silguri and Kolkata in West Bengal and ends on August 24.
Six Indian Super League clubs will also take part in the prestigious tournament organized by Services Sports Control Board. The other four teams in the tournament will be fielded by the Army, Navy, and Air Force. Army will have two teams, Army Red and Army Green.
The teams will be divided into four groups and the clubs that finishes first and second in each group will progress into the quarterfinals of the tournament.
Durand Cup is the oldest football tournament in Asia and was started by the British Army in 1888.
“Durand Cup is a prestigious tournament and there were no second thoughts to participate when we got the invite. Already we are on verge of completing our transfer targets and our preseason will start by July 15. We have high hopes on the squad and we will be aiming for top honors in the historic tournament,” said Gokulam Kerala FC president VC Praveen.
The Malabarians had a disappointing I-League campaign last time out, finishing ninth in the league table. They ended the season with only three wins and eight draws, managing only 17 points.
It will be a great opportunity for Gokulam Kerala to bounce back and start the new season on a high. The South Indian outfit will face top Indian sides in the Durand Cup, which will only help them improve their side for the new season. A good showing at the Durand Cup will set the platform for the team in the upcoming league season.
EB defeated Aryan FC 2-0 in the semi-finals today, while MB notched up a 1-0 victory against Adamas University 24 Parganas (N) Masters
The champions would be awarded 50 lakhs, while the runner-up would get 30 lakh. The best goalkeeper, best footballer and the top scorer of the tournament would each get a prize money of 2 lakh each. The best footballer would be sent for a three-week training to Manchester United and Leeds academy
In the recent past, ugly spats between the fans of the two clubs during the youth derbies has often taken a serious turn. Supporters should learn to draw the thin line between passion and belligerence. Also enough security personnel should be deployed to avoid such untoward incidents.
Overall not a good advertisement for Bengal football.
https://www.facebook.com/QuessEastBengalOfficial/videos/2301795319888209/
BTW, what's this? Is this a football tournament or a reality show? Popular Hindi film songs blaring just before the kick-off of the final of a tournament, even when the players are practicing? Where does this happen in India? As I said, the whole thing reeks of unprofessionalism. If Zee Bangla wanted a promotion of their channel, they could have done it in some other way rather than reducing a football tournament to a farce!! It's an insult to the young footballers who wanted to showcase their talent and the genuinely passionate football fans of Bengal who were eager to see some good football.
Zee Bangla Football League: The farce that was the East Bengal vs Mohun Bagan U-19 final
The new season at Kolkata maidan kicked-off with a U-19 Kolkata Derby as arch-rivals East Bengal and Mohun Bagan locked horns in the final of Zee Bangla Football League held at the East Bengal club ground.
Both the youth teams had won all their matches in the league stage and were ready to face each other in the grand final of the tournament hosted by Zee Group and in association with the Indian Football Association (IFA).
Apparently, to increase the entertainment value of the tournament, the organisers came up with an out-of-the-box idea of dividing the matches into four quarters of 15 minutes each.East Bengal were the more dominant side in the first three-quarters of the match. East Bengal took the lead via a penalty goal at the stroke of half time. Star player Manichand Singh, who has been promoted to the senior team this season, scored from the spot in the 30th minute.
The Red and Golds colts could have buried the game in the third quarter of the match itself had they been clinical in front of the goal. The home side failed to tap in two golden opportunities.
Bagan took advantage of East Bengal’s complacency and scored the equaliser at the beginning of the fourth and final quarter. Striker Koushik Santra converted a simple header from a corner to restore parity in the game.
In the 50th minute of the match, East Bengal goalkeeper Ayon Roy committed a silly foul on Mohun Bagan’s Deep Saha inside the box and gave away a penalty. Koushik completed his brace from the penalty spot to give the away side the lead.
There was plenty of drama that unfolded thereafter as the home fans were unhappy with the referee’s decision to award a penalty. The supporters started hurling bottles onto the pitch, targeting the match officials. The referee immediately stopped the game and it never restarted due to security concerns.
The fate of the match will be decided by a committee formed by IFA and organisers Zee’s officials as suggested by the IFA secretary Utpal Ganguly.
On the chaos that ensued, Ganguly said, “Whatever happened was very unfortunate. The game should have continued. I also feel that more security should have been provided. I had told the organisers to conduct the final at a neutral venue but they chose to go ahead with the East Bengal ground.
“A final decision on the match will be taken by a committee comprising of representatives from IFA and Zee.”
This competition was an entertainment extravaganza which had very little football on it. The organisers focused more on the on-field drama and showmanship rather than concentrating on organising a serious football tournament.
Kolkata Derby is all about emotions of the fans of both sides and it has invited controversy on multiple occasions in the past. Hence it was highly irresponsible from the side of the organisers to not think about safety and security in such a high voltage match.
https://www.goal.com/en-in/news/zee-bangla-football-league-east-bengal-mohun-bagan/146mtw0111fo31u1o4jq6iw9iz
He said Kol derby will be organized before durand cup.
IFA shield will be again a senior team tourney
https://www.thesangaiexpress.com/Encyc/2019/7/7/IMPHAL-Jul-7-Champions-of-the-Second-Division-League-2018-19-Tiddim-Road-Athletic-Union-TRAU-is-set-to-start-preparation-for-the-prestigious-Durand-Cup-Football-Tournament-said-the-motivator-o.html