With the kickoff less than a month away, the organizers of the prestigious tournament have revealed the groups for the 132nd Durand Cup football tournament. The 24 participating teams will play in the tournament across three cities of the country. The matches will start on August 03 and end on September 03 and the host cities are Kolkata, Guwahati and Kokrajhar.
The organizers have divided the 24 participating teams into six groups for the 132nd Durand Cup. So that each of the groups has 4 teams in it. After a gap of 27 years, two foreign teams will also be participating this year. They are the Bangladesh Army Team from Bangladesh and the Tribhuvan Army Football Club from Nepal.
Kolkata will be the host for the matches of Groups A, B and C. Majority of the matches of Groups D and E will be in Guwahati while Group F matches will be in Kokrajhar. A total of 43 matches will be played in the tournament including the finals. Guwahati and Kokrajhar will host two of the quarter-final matches. The rest of the knockouts are scheduled for Kolkata.
Mohun Bagan Super Giant and arch-rivals East Bengal are in Group A. Roundglass Punjab FC and the Bangladesh Army Team are the other two sides in the group.
Mohammedan Sporting, has found itself in Group B. They are alongside Mumbai City FC and Jamshedpur FC. The Indian Navy is the fourth team in Group B.
Group C consists of defending champions Bengaluru FC and Indian Air Force. Two teams from Kerala, Kerala Blasters and Gokulam Kerala FC also find themselves in Group C.
North East United FC is in the Group D alongside FC Goa. Another popular side from the North-East, Shillong Lajong FC will be making their Durand Cup debut in this group.
Group E features Hyderabad FC and Chennaiyin FC grouped with Delhi FC. The service team of Nepal, Tribhuvan Army Football Club will complete this group.
Group F has the local Bodoland Team, also making a debut in the tournament this year. Odisha FC and Rajasthan United FC are also in the same group. The Indian Army team completes Group F.
