Abahani head to Kolkata

Six-time Bangladesh Premier league champions Abahani are all set to fly to Kolkata today in two separate contingents to take part in their AFC Cup playoff match against Mohun Bagan Super Giants.

The match will take place tomorrow at the Salt Lake Stadium, with the winners progressing to the group stage of South Asian zone of Asia's second-tier club competition.

The Sky Blues will leave with at least seven foreign players including six of those who started in their 2-1 win against Club Eagles of Maldives in Dhaka last week.

In the last edition, Abahani suffered a 3-1 defeat against the Kolkata giants in a playoff fixture, as a result exiting the competition from either the preliminary round or the playoff stage for the third time in a row. This time, though, the team management is hopeful about getting into the group stage for the first time since 2019.

"Due to the inclusion of six foreign players, I think the gap between the two clubs is less than on previous occasions," Abahani manager Satyjit Das Rupu told The Daily Star yesterday after getting Indian visas for the team members.

Rupu, however, admitted that the Indian clubs are ahead of Abahani due to their experience of playing in the Indian Super League, where a lot of high-intensity matches take place.

"There is no denying that Indian clubs are progressing due to the ISL where a lot of big players are coming to play and the Indian local players also grow in stature. The Indian players are now more confident and the style of play has also changed," Rupu said. "We are going there to qualify for the group stage, but it will depend on how the players perform on the pitch."