AFC Cup: Bengaluru FC receive warm welcome after arriving in Doha for final
Doha: Bengaluru FC, the first Indian football club to reach the final of AFC Cup, received a warm welcome from a handful of expatriates settled here ahead of their summit showdown on Saturday.
Some 10-15 ardent fans were there to welcome the Blues at the Hamad International Airport early in the morning.
Bengaluru FC team arrives at Doha for the AFC final. Twitter courtesy: @bengalurufc
JSW Bengaluru FC will be playing Iraq's Air Force Club on Saturday.
Despite the scheduled flight being cancelled, it did not deter the passionate members of Qatar Indian Association, which had a short 'meet n greet' session with the Bengaluru FC contingent.
"We got to know that their scheduled flight was cancelled but there was no question of going back from the Airport without welcoming our heroes," Safeer, General Secretary, Qatar Indian Association for Sports and Games (QIA), said.
Coach Albert Roca seemed overwhelmed with the support and said: "It was a long and tiring journey but to be greeted by the members of the Indian community despite the late arrival was very heartening to see. I hope they turn out in big numbers on matchday and motivate the boys even more"
Team captain Sunil Chhetri, also the Indian with the highest number of goals in international football, was not surprisingly the crowd favourite.
Chhetri, who led India to the SAFF Cup gold in January, was seen posing with the fans at the airport as well prior to leaving for the team hotel.
@samiam ..for real fans time and distance its not a matter , but you need to think about the duty time as for most of them saturday will be working day . What i mean to say is that after duty or leaving work early and coming all the way to west bay where this stadium is located will be tough for most of them.
@goalkeepar yes Fatorda is located in a metro and are well connected , thats why we have seen full packed stadum when dempo and churchil played their AFC matches. Unfortunately Indian expats here in Doha dont have that luxury
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AFC Cup: Bengaluru FC receive warm welcome after arriving in Doha for final
Doha: Bengaluru FC, the first Indian football club to reach the final of AFC Cup, received a warm welcome from a handful of expatriates settled here ahead of their summit showdown on Saturday.
Some 10-15 ardent fans were there to welcome the Blues at the Hamad International Airport early in the morning.
Bengaluru FC team arrives at Doha for the AFC final. Twitter courtesy: @bengalurufc
JSW Bengaluru FC will be playing Iraq's Air Force Club on Saturday.
Despite the scheduled flight being cancelled, it did not deter the passionate members of Qatar Indian Association, which had a short 'meet n greet' session with the Bengaluru FC contingent.
"We got to know that their scheduled flight was cancelled but there was no question of going back from the Airport without welcoming our heroes," Safeer, General Secretary, Qatar Indian Association for Sports and Games (QIA), said.
Coach Albert Roca seemed overwhelmed with the support and said: "It was a long and tiring journey but to be greeted by the members of the Indian community despite the late arrival was very heartening to see. I hope they turn out in big numbers on matchday and motivate the boys even more"
Team captain Sunil Chhetri, also the Indian with the highest number of goals in international football, was not surprisingly the crowd favourite.
Chhetri, who led India to the SAFF Cup gold in January, was seen posing with the fans at the airport as well prior to leaving for the team hotel.
@goalkeepar yes Fatorda is located in a metro and are well connected , thats why we have seen full packed stadum when dempo and churchil played their AFC matches. Unfortunately Indian expats here in Doha dont have that luxury
Repeat Timings:
2 PM & 4 PM on Star Sports 1/HD1 and at 11 AM & 1 PM on Star Sports 4/HD4
http://thefield.scroll.in/820562/meet-bengaluru-fcs-opponents-in-the-afc-cup-final-iraqs-no-nonsense-air-force-club