Homeless: stadium unavailability forces Bagan to play AFC Cup group stage games in Guwahati

THE UPCOMING AFC CUP will see Mohun Bagan fans deprived of a chance to see their club play their home games at their traditional home city.

Since the Salt Lake Stadium is closed for renovations ahead of the U-17 World Cup it's going to host next year, the I-League defending champions were left without an AFC certified ground in Kolkata where they could host their matches. The Barasat Stadium, and Kalyani Municipality Stadium do not have all the required facilities and the Howrah Stadium, which has hosted AFC Cup matches in the past, is no longer game-ready after years of neglect.

As a result the Mariners were forced to look for a stadium outside Kolkata. They were considering Cuttack's Barabati Stadium, but in the end decided on Guwahati's Indira Gandhi Stadium as their official home ground for the AFC Cup group stage matches.

The driving factor behind this decision is possibly the robust football following the city has. The ISL matches held in this stadium drew large crowds, and even recently held state league matches in various parts of Guwahati saw football lovers fill up the stadiums.

The city of Guwahati is also home to a large Bengali population, many of whom are hardcore football enthusiasts.

So while having home support will not be much of an issue for Mohun Bagan, the fact that they have to move out of the state of West Bengal to play their international fixtures says a lot about the state of football infrastructure in the region.

The decision was met with general dissatisfaction by the match-going regulars who are now facing the arduous task of travelling more than 500 kilometers to see their club play in Asia.

Mohun Bagan will play their "home" matches in AFC Cup group stage on 24th February (vs Maziya), 16th March (vs Yangon United/ Yadnarbon) and 11th May (vs South China).