Guwahati, Jul 29 (PTI) Nepal’s Tribhuvan Army Football Club arrived here on Saturday to participate in the 132nd Durand Cup 2023.
The 42-member squad is headed by Lt Col. Basanta Raj Gurung (retd) and will be captained by seasoned international Nawayug Shrestha, who has eight career goals for Nepal in 43 internationals.
The squad was flown by an Indian Air Force plane from their base in Nepal and brought to Guwahati, from there they will move to Kokrajhar to play their first game at the newly-built SAI stadium.
The visitors will kick off their tournament against newly-promoted I-League (Indian second division) side Delhi FC on August 9.
Nepal has been placed in Group E, alongside Indian Super League (ISL) sides Hyderabad FC and Chennaiyin FC, besides Delhi FC.
The winners of each of the six groups of this year’s Durand Cup will go through to the last eight, along with two best second-placed sides.
“It is a great honour for us to participate in this prestigious tournament and we look forward to give our best,” Shrestha said in a release.
Besides Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh are the two other international teams in this year’s edition, which will witness participation of a total of 24 teams.
This year’s edition will have its first game between Mohun Bagan Super Giant and Bangladesh Army Football Team on August 3 at Kolkata’s Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan (VYBK).
The four venues for this year’s tournament are Kolkata, Kokrajhar, Guwahati and Shillong.
The Durand Cup is Asia’s oldest tournament, held mostly between top Indian football clubs across divisions.
Source: PTI News
