ISL 2020-21: Bengaluru FC to play pre-season friendly vs Rangers FC?

Indian Super League (ISL) franchise Bengaluru FC could soon take on Scottish football giants Rangers FC, with whom they had entered into a partnership last year, in a pre-season friendly, Gary Gibson, Rangers’ Head of Soccer Schools & International Relations, revealed.

In an interview with the Scottish club’s media team, Gibson spoke at length about Rangers’ partnership with Bengaluru FC, how and future plans.

“There were a number of really exciting projects ready to kick off and then obviously due to the current situation it's not happened… There was a first team game arranged as part of pre-season, so we'll look at Rangers playing Bengaluru at some point,” he said when asked about upcoming projects.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMB7WplDwbc&feature=youtu.be

Gibson further added how the Rangers U18 team would have flown to IIS Bellary, a campus that impressed the club immensely, for a training camp. “Our under 18s were duty to fly across, for a training camp and I mentioned the Inspire Institute, that's where the squad would have trained. So that that would have been an excellent opportunity for the school to go and do that,” he said.

Apparently, two BFC youngsters were also supposed to go over to Glasgow but the pandemic halted the plan. Gibson said, “And the two young players coming across from Bangalore, who were to get that implemented at some point and when it's safe to do so... well also as partly the National Soccer Academy we would have coaches gone across to India, we’ll then start to have groups coming from Bangalore... so really excited.”

Earlier in September last year, Bengaluru had announced a two-year collaboration with Rangers. Then, Bala Devi, the star of the Indian women’s football team, was signed by the Rangers Ladies team — a move which was facilitated by Bengaluru.