East Bengal’s second match of the Calcutta Football League (CFL) against BSS Sporting Club, which was supposed to be held on August 17, has been postponed by the Indian Football Association (IFA).
The Durand Cup committee had urged the IFA to postpone the game after the Red and Golds reached the semifinal of the knock-out competition.
East Bengal will play their semifinal match on August 21 against the winner Group ‘D’ which is just four days after their CFL clash against BSS Sporting. The Durand Committee feared that the Kolkata giants might not field their strongest possible starting XI due to the fixture congestion.
Hence the organising committee requested the West Bengal FA to consider their plea and change the date of the above mentioned fixture so that the Kolkata giants remain fresh before their all important Durand semifinal match.
For the second time this season the IFA has been forced to change their fixture keeping in mind the parallel running of the CFL and the Durand Cup.
It is true that the Kolkata clubs have suffered enough due to such congested fixture. In the first week, both Mohun Bagan and East Bengal had to play three matches within a gap of eight days. Both the Spanish coaches Antonio Vicuna and Alejandro Menendez had expressed their dissatisfaction over such congested fixture.
The Kolkata giants have been off to terrible starts in the CFL this season. While East Bengal lost their opening match, Mohun Bagan managed to gather just one point from two matches.
In Durand Cup though, the picture is completely opposite. While East Bengal have already booked their place in the last four of the competition by winning all their three matches, Mohun Bagan are just a step away from booking their berth. They have six points currently from the first two games.
.jpg?auto=webp&format=pjpg&width=640&quality=60)
.png?auto=webp&format=pjpg&width=640&quality=60)
