Federation Cup Postponed

The 35th Federation Cup football championship, scheduled to be held in Kerala from January 1 to 12, has been postponed.

The event will now be held from January 14 to 26.

Sixteen teams, in four groups, will figure in the Cup which will be held at two venues.

While Kochi, the main venue, will host two groups in the league phase and both the semifinals and the final, Manjeri in Malappuram district is likely to be the other venue.

“Some work is going on in the dressing room at the Manjeri stadium, that is why we had asked the All India Football Federation to give us some more time and it has now been extended by 15 days,” said Kerala Football Association general secretary P. Anilkumar on Friday.

“We have enough time to complete the work. But if there are any problems in Manjeri, then it will be shifted to Kozhikode.”

But there are some issues with the Kozhikode stadium too.

“The pavilion is under construction at the Kozhikode stadium, that’s why it’s in doubt. But they have given an assurance that it will be ready by the end of December,” said Anilkumar.

16-team affair

The Federation Cup will be a 16-team affair and apart from the 13 I-League clubs, the AIFF has added three more sides — Bhawanipore FC and Langsning FC, which finished third and fourth in the last Second Division I-League, along with United Sikkim for the Kerala edition.

But the KFA has been holding discussions with the AIFF to include a Kerala team, Kochi’s Eagles FC, in the Cup.

“We will know about it in a couple of days,” said KFA president and AIFF vice-president K.M.I. Mather.