Friday , March 29 2024

Superpower Football – Half Volley: Bengaluru to play AFC Cup! Kerala Blasters out of Kochi?

Bengaluru FC pips ISL runners-up Chennaiyin FC for a spot in the AFC Cup playoffs following the ATK-Mohun Bagan merger. Now, is this fair? Ankush breaks it down for us.

The past season was an entertaining one as we saw Mohun Bagan win the I-League with six games remaining. Their ISL counterparts, ATK, won the ISL in an equally thrilling fashion and both the teams landed the coveted continental spots with ATK landing the AFC Cup play off spot and Mohun Bagan winning the AFC Cup group stage spot. With the newly merged ATK-Mohun Bagan claiming the AFC Cup Group Stage spot, Indian football fans were shocked when the now available playoff spot was handed to a third place Bengaluru FC rather than the ISL runners up, Chennaiyin FC. Was this the right move?

Kerala Blasters are now likely to play their first few ISL games at the EMS Corporation Stadium in Kozhikode, the same stadium that is home to I-League’s Gokulam Kerala FC. This move comes after a series of rows with the Kochi corporation and now the club might abandon its central location for a possible permanent move to Kozhikode. What does this mean for the fans and would this lead to another San Siro situation?

In what seems to be a good gesture from the AIFF, the federation has decided to pay a stipend of Rs. 10,000 to the India U-17 women’s team probables to help the players meet their dietary requirements amidst the coronavirus lockdown. Is this a good enough compensation for an athletes’ highly demanding needs?

About Arunava Chaudhuri

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