Bhubaneswar to host Intercontinental Cup from June 9

Bhubaneswar will host the senior men’s national team during the Intercontinental Cup 2023 in June, the AIFF announced on Wednesday.

The four-team Intercontinental Cup will be played in the FIFA International Window from June 9 to 18, with hosts India being joined by Lebanon, Mongolia and Vanuatu in the tournament.

This will be the third edition of the Intercontinental Cup, with the previous two being held in Mumbai (2018) and Ahmedabad (2019).

Earlier last month, Manipur hosted the Tri-Nation international football tournament.

“Imphal had experienced the joy of International football in March, and now it’s Bhubaneswar’s turn to join the country’s growing map of international venues for men’s football,” said AIFF Secretary General Dr. Shaji Prabhakaran.

“Bhubaneswar was one of the venues of the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup, and with that, we have seen some excellent infrastructure being developed by the Government of Odisha. It is a legacy that the U-17 Women’s World Cup has left behind and has paved the path for the Senior Men’s National Team to now play in the city for the first time in its history.

If you look at what happened in Manipur, it was held for the first time, and that way we are confident that fans in Odisha will display equal enthusiasm for the event. We are also hopeful that Odisha football will benefit greatly from hosting the Hero Intercontinental Cup,” he added.

The Indian men’s national team had previously never played against Mongolia and Vanuatu. Against Lebanon, the hosts hold a record of playing six matches.

The Blue Tigers are currently on a five-match unbeaten streak on home turf, a run that began on June 8, 2022, with a 2-0 win over Cambodia in the AFC Asian Cup 2023 Qualifiers Round 3 in Kolkata. Since then, Igor Stimac’s boys have defeated Afghanistan (2-1), Hong Kong (4-0), and then on to the Tri-Nation, where they beat Myanmar (1-0) and the Kyrgyz Republic (2-0) in Imphal.

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-IANS

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