Eagles FC Kerala gets Fed Cup berth

Federation Cup football in Kerala will finally have a home team.

Eagles FC (Kerala) has been given a berth in the championship, which will feature all the 13 I-League clubs apart from three second division teams.

For the last couple of months, the Kerala Football Association had been trying its best to include Eagles in the Federation Cup, which will be held in Kochi and another venue in Kerala from January 14 to 26, and with Langsning FC failing to fulfil the AFC licensing criteria, the national body (AIFF) awarded its place to the Kochi-based Eagles.

“Langsning (which was in the original bunch of teams announced by the AIFF a few weeks ago) had been withdrawn because it could not fulfil the licensing criteria,” said KFA general secretary P. Anil Kumar on Saturday.

For Eagles, which is coached by Stanley Rozario, the Federation Cup should offer some valuable experience before its second division I-League campaign next year.

The presence of Eagles will also pull in the crowds in a big way here.