AFC Cup: Bengaluru FC will play Eagles FC in a playoff match in the Maldives on August 15
The Indian club Bengaluru FC will hold its 2021 AFC Cup play-off match against the Eagles in the Maldives on August 15, the Asian Football Confederation announced on Monday.
The AFC confirmed that the playoff and group stage (South) matches of the second-tier continental club competition will be held in the Maldives.
BFC, the 2016 AFC Cup runners-up, will take on Maldives’ Eagles FC in the playoff match, with the winners joining India’s ATK Mohun Bagan FC, Maziya Sports & Recreation from Maldives, and 2020-21 Bangladesh Federation Cup winners Bashundhara Kings in Group D.
“The Blues’ AFC Cup Playoff Clash against Club Eagles FC will take place on August 15th, in the Maldives. The winner of this clash will join ATK Mohun Bagan FC, Maziya S&RC and Bashundhara Kings in Group D,” Bengaluru FC tweeted.
The Group D matches will be held across three match days on 18, 21, and 24 August, with the group leaders advancing to the single-leg inter-zone semi-final.
In May, BFC’s play-off match against Eagles FC was postponed indefinitely after three members of the visiting team violated COVID-19 protocols.
The postponement came after the host country’s sports minister Ahmed Mahloof asked the ISL side to leave, citing breach of COVID-19 protocols, a sentiment echoed by club owner Parth Jindal.
The club have already started training for its upcoming match.
