The 131st Durand Cup football tournament is set to begin between ATK Mohun Bagan and East Bengal on August 16 with the first derby match of the season at the Salt Lake Stadium here. The schedule of the tournament was announced on Wednesday. The matches are scheduled to be held at three venues in the city, including salt lake stadium and Kishore Bharti Kridangan, besides Naihati stadium in the North 24 Parganas district.
The tournament will be played at the Khuman Lumpak Stadium in Guwahati and Imphal. The title clash is scheduled to be played on September 18 at the Salt Lake Stadium. 10 matches will be played in this stadium, including all seven knockout matches. Guwahati and Imphal are scheduled to host one each of the four groups and in the meantime, 10 matches are scheduled to be played at each of these two venues. This time the number of teams has been increased from 16 to 20.
Earlier, there were reports that the four-city trophy tour for the start of the 131st Durand Cup football tournament has been flagged off from Kolkata. The 'Flagging off ceremony' has been organized at Fort William, the headquarters of the Eastern Command of the Indian Fars. The event was attended by Arup Biswas, in-charge of the Ministry of Power, Government of West Bengal and Arup Biswas, Ministry of Youth Services and Sports, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Command, Lt Gen R P Kalita and Chief of Staff, Eastern Command Headquarters and Chairman of Durand Committee, Lt Gen K K K. Repswal had also come.
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