BENGALURU SET TO HOST FIRST SOUTH-INDIAN DERBY OF SEASON

13 Jan 2017

I-League Media

BENGALURU: In a battle between the clubs from the southern India, defending champion Bengaluru FC take on the newbie Chennai City FC in the second round of Hero I-League 2016-17 at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru on January 14, 2017.

Not many times the city witnessed a South Indian derby before, last time it was played was in 2011-12 season, between Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and Chirag United Club Kerala. Last time a match between clubs from Karnataka and Tamil Nadu was played in 2002-03, the seventh edition of erstwhile National Football League. In that season, Chennai had Indian Bank and Bengaluru had Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and Indian Telephone Industries (ITI). In a 12-team league, Indian Bank survived relegation while HAL and ITI finished 11th and 12th respectively and were relegated in the next season.