Football
Bhubaneswar set to host four-team Hero Intercontinental Cup in June
Indian men's football team will return in action as Bhubaneswar will host the four-team Hero Intercontinental Cup in June 2023.
India are winning the Hero Tri-Nation tournament. (Source: Indian Football Team/Twitter)
Indian senior men's football team will return as Bhubaneswar will host the Senior Men's National Team, as it gets ready to hold the Hero Intercontinental Cup in June.
After the grand success of the Hero Tri-Nation International Football Tournament in Manipur, the Indian team will face a stiff challenge in the tournament.
The four-team Hero Intercontinental Cup will be played in the FIFA International Window from June 9 to 18, with hosts India being joined by Lebanon, Mongolia, and Vanuatu in the tournament.
This will be the third edition of the Hero Intercontinental Cup, with the previous two being held in Mumbai (2018) and Ahmedabad (2019).
Federation Secretary General Shaji Prabhakaran welcomed Odisha into the fold of senior Men's International football, saying, “Imphal had experienced the joy of International football in March, and now it's Bhubaneswar's turn to join the country's growing map of international venues for men’s football.
“Bhubaneswar was one of the venues of the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup, and with that, we have seen some excellent infrastructure being developed by the Government of Odisha,” he said. “It is a legacy that the U-17 Women's World Cup has left behind and has paved the path for the Senior Men's National Team to now play in the city for the first time in its history.
“If you look at what happened in Manipur, it was held for the first time, and that way we are confident that fans in Odisha will display equal enthusiasm for the event,” said Prabhakaran. “We are also hopeful that Odisha football will benefit greatly from hosting the Hero Intercontinental Cup.”
The Indian Men’s National Team had previously never played against Mongolia and Vanuatu. Against Lebanon, the hosts hold a record of playing six matches.
The Indian men's team is on a hot streak of five-match unbeaten ran at home which started last year on June 8 2022 with a win over Cambodia in the third round of AFC Asian Cup 2023 qualifiers in Kolkata. The team will look to continue the same in Hero Intercontinental Cup.
