East Bengal are all set to visit Malaysia for a pre-season camp ahead of the I-League 2018/19 season which is expected to start in the final week of October.
The Red and Golds are scheduled to play a preparatory match against Indian Super League (ISL) side FC Goa on Saturday in Goa. After returning from Goa, the club is expected to fly to Malaysia.
Speaking to Goal, club CEO Sanjit Sen said, "The club is evaluating the option of a pre-season camp in Malaysia. It will be a 20-21 day camp before the team returns to play the I-League.
"We are still in the process of finalizing the dates. There will be clarity soon after the team returns to Kolkata from Goa."
The Red and Golds, who missed out on winning a ninth consecutive Calcutta Football League (CFL) title, will be eyeing success in the I-League this season.
The club failed to live up to the expectations as they finished six points behind champions and arch-rivals Mohun Bagan in CFL 2018.
Spanish coach Alejandro Menendez, who arrived in Kolkata on September 2, has finally taken over as the head coach of the club and conducted the first training session on Wednesday.
It is indeed a great step taken by the club management as it is rare to see I-League clubs scheduling their pre-season training outside India. The last I-League club to conduct an overseas pre-season camp was Bengaluru FC in 2014 when Ashley Westwood’s men travelled to China.
.jpg?auto=webp&format=pjpg&width=640&quality=60)
-min.png?auto=webp&format=pjpg&width=640&quality=60)