Durand Cup 2024: Mohun Bagan vs East Bengal contest to be held in Lucknow after initial postponement

Indian football fans can finally look forward to the highly anticipated clash between Mohun Bagan and East Bengal at the Durand Cup, after the match was initially postponed. The decision to reschedule the match was announced on Thursday (Aug 22) by the tournament organisers, who were able to find a solution to arrange the fixture which was originally supposed to take place on Sunday (Aug 18). The postponement was primarily due to the Kolkata police's inability to provide the necessary security for the match, as the state capital is currently facing challenges in maintaining law and order following a tragic rape and murder case at the RG Kar Medical College. Now, with a new date set for the match, football fans can eagerly anticipate the high-voltage clash between these two historic rivals.

The idea of hosting the derby in Lucknow was proposed by All India Football Federation (AIFF) President Kalyan Chaubey during a recent meeting with the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath. The iconic K.D. Singh Babu Stadium in Lucknow will host the match on September 2 as the football fans in the state will enjoy high-quality football action. A crowd of around 10,000 is expected to attend the match as fans after the idea was accepted without any delay.

The major decision to postpone the clash came after the majority of the Kolkata police staff was employed to maintain law and order in the state capital. Earlier in the month an unfortunate incident of rape and murder in the RG Kar Medical College raised law and order issues amid protests and strikes from the doctors have taken place in Kolkata.

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Kolkata police and the Bidhannagar police were tasked to look after the security during the local derby. Debashis Dutta, a top official of the Mohun Bagan club, stated that they were informed of the decision verbally to cancel the match in Kolkata.

The clash will come just days before the start of the Indian Super League (ISL) with teams ready to make their mark in the nation’s biggest league competition.