On March 10, during the recent Kolkata derby, Igor Stimac, the coach of the Indian football team, was in attendance at Salt Lake Stadium. There’s a chance he was watching some of the national team players that day play for Mohun Bagan and East Bengal from the stands.
He was obviously impressed by the crowd, though, as it is now evident. Reportedly, coach Stimac has expressed interest in playing in Kolkata at the Salt Lake Stadium to those in his inner circle, according to TV9 Bangla. According to reports, he even told AIFF President Kalyan Chaubey as much.
The coach appears to be drawn to the Kolkata stadium for two reasons: the atmosphere and the attendance. June 6 is the scheduled date of the football match against Kuwait. According to reports, the coach believes that the June rains will help them in this situation.
Players from Afghanistan are not used to playing on rainy fields during the monsoon. Therefore, if they play in Kolkata, India will have an advantage along with the incredible crowd from back then. In the Indian Super League this season, Salt Lake Stadium has averaged the highest attendance.
The Kolkata supporters are renowned for their passion for the game and their steadfast commitment to attending the stadium during any major match. AFC Asian Cup qualifiers in 2022 are among the sporadic football matches involving Indian teams that take place at the stadium.
The following people attended the three qualifying matches, which were all held at Salt Lake Stadium:
India vs Cambodia (June 8, 2022) – 26,118
India vs Afghanistan (June 11, 2022) – 44,216
India vs Hong Kong (June 14, 2022) – 48,216
The football teams of Afghanistan will visit India on March 22 at home and on March 26 away in their next two games. Next, they have home games against Kuwait and away games against Qatar. The coach will be motivated to win the preceding three games, though, because defeating Qatar will be important.
