East Bengal FC and Mohun Bagan Super Giant to play exhibition match in Lucknow

The reserve teams of East Bengal Football Club and Mohun Bagan Super Giant will lock horns in an exhibition match in Lucknow on September 2, 2024. The KD Singh Babu Stadium in the ‘City of the Nawabs’ will host the Kolkata derby.

East Bengal FC, in the club’s 104 years of rich history, have never played in Lucknow while Mohun Bagan, established in 1889, will play in the Uttar Pradesh capital after a gap of 69 years. The last time Mohun Bagan played in Lucknow was on August 30, 1955, when they drew an exhibition match 1-1 with the Lucknow XI.

The exhibition match is organised by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) along with the support and association of the Government of Uttar Pradesh and the Uttar Pradesh Football Sangh. The aim of organising an exhibition match between the top Kolkata teams is to develop and promote football across Uttar Pradesh.

Deggie Cardozo, head coach of Mohun Bagan Super Giant said the initiative by the AIFF to popularise football in Uttar Pradesh is a good initiative and hoped the teams can inspire youngsters to take up the sport. “This is a great initiative by the AIFF President to popularise football in Uttar Pradesh. I hope this match will inspire more youngsters to take up football, and in the future, we get a lot more quality players from UP,” Cardozo said in a statement released by the AIFF.

Cardozo’s opposite number Bino George, the head coach of East Bengal, said grassroots development in state like Uttar Pradesh is very important. “We often stress on grassroots development, and it becomes all the more important for a state like Uttar Pradesh. It is such a big state with so many districts, that if we can popularise football there even a bit, we could see so many talented players coming through. I really appreciate this initiative by the AIFF to bring such a big match to Lucknow,” George said.

On the occasion, the AIFF will also distribute 96,455 footballs in 21,551 schools in 75 districts of the state. The initiative will be run through the Navodaya Vidyalaya in collaboration with The Ministry of Education, Government of India.