Kolkata: The first edition on the Champions Cup is all set to get underway from the 17th of August in Chennai as confirmed by the AIFF on Tuesday.
The tournament would be a four team affair with the three of them being- St Kitts, Mauritius and hosts India while the fourth team is yet to be confirmed.
“The 10-day tournament will be held at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Chennai from August 17. Initially, Afghanistan had assured us of their participation. But they are facing some logistical issues and won’t be visiting. So we are yet to confirm the fourth team in the tournament,” said AIFF General Secretary Kushal Das in an interaction with The Times of India.
According to reports, Chennai was selected as the venue for the tournament as Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Goa, Guhawati and Kerala were scheduled to host the FIFA U-17 World Cup as a result of which, they were taken out of the equation.
It was way back in 1993 that a football tournament was held in the city when it hosted the Nehru Cup. Also, it’s been almost ten years since the Indian team last played in Chennai when it drew against Iraq by a 1-1 margin in a Pre-Olympics match.
The Champions Cup would be held in a round-robin format.
Before the tournament begins, the Indian team would have a preparatory camp in the city which would last for a week.
Das confirmed, “Following the round-robin format, the top two teams will play in the final. We are also planning to have India’s preparatory camp from August 11 in Chennai.”
Jesiah Villavarayar, the president of the Tamil Nadu Football Association (TFA) said that measures are being taken to make sure that the ground is available for the Champions Cup as the Nehru Stadium pitch had deteriorated after 120 matches of the Chennai Football Association League was held from February to April earlier this year.
“The stadium has a capacity of 35,000 and its facilities are of international standard. The only concern is the condition of the ground. But renovation work is in full swing and the AIFF is closely monitoring the work. Since the training facilities at the Nehru Park are of the highest order, we have identified it for India’s camp. We are looking at some other training grounds where others teams can practice,” said Villavarayar.