Gokulam Kerala FC to compete in IFA Shield 

KOLKATA: Gokulam Kerala FC will be participating in the 123rd IFA Shield football tournament scheduled from December 6, the Malabarians announced on Wednesday.

GKFC are placed in Group D' along with United SC and BSS SC and the other major teams include local heavyweights Mohammedan SC, Sudeva FC and AIFF developmental squad Indian Arrows.

The Malabarians will play its group matches against United SC and BSS SC on December 6 and December 12 respectively.

Two teams from each group will progress into the quarterfinals. The tentative date for the final is on December 20.

The matches will be held closed-door, following strict COVID-19 regulations, said the organisers.

The venues of each match are yet to be confirmed.

"We are aiming nothing else than winning the tournament. The tournament will be very helpful to make the boys ready for the I-League."

The first match is on December 6 and we have already started to prepare for that," Gokulam Kerala FC head coach Vincenzo Alberto Annese stated in a release.

"We are happy to play another historic tournament in the country. Last year we won the Durand Cup. Now we have a new challenge and we are ready for it."

Organised by the Indian Football Association, the football governing body in West Bengal, it is one of the oldest football tournaments in the country.

The only successful Kerala team in the tournament was FC Kochin, which finished runner-up in 1997.