Saturday will be a historic day, both for Indian and English football. Delhi Dynamos will become the the first ISL club to play a friendly match against a Premier League team. Ahead of ISL 2016, the Dynamos, coached by Gianluca Zambrotta, will lock horns with West Brom at the Hawthorns on Saturday.
A special occasion calls for some special preparations. With that in mind, the EPL side, who are currently tenth in the table following three matches of the Premier League 2016-17 season, have roped in star entertainers to build up interest for the match.
BBC Asian Network DJ Noreen Khan will be the emcee for the event in the club's Fanzone, where a plethora of young football talents will be felicitated. Other than Khan, popular Punjabi singer Dr. Zeus, of "Kangna" fame, will be seen performing alongside Zora Randhawa, of "Peshi" fame.
Plenty of other bhangra artists, including H Dhami, Shide Boss, dancers Gabru Panjab De, Anj & Moses Baig of Desi Rascals and dhol drummers by King G Mall, will be performing ahead of the match. All the proceeds from the game will be donated to charities, including The Albion Foundation.
Believe it or not, the ticket price to catch the match is set at just £5 each.
The friendly match also provides the chance for former Tottenham Hotspur midfield star Nacer Chadli to make his debut for West Brom. The EPL club also confirmed that apart from Chadli, the likes of Allan Nyom, Boaz Myhill, Jonas Olsson, Craig Dawson, Claudio Yacob, Craig Gardner and Matt Phillips will be involved in the match.
Striker Saido Berahino, however, will not play any part in the match.
Delhi Dynamos, who have never won the ISL title, will be getting a lot of experience, as they brush shoulders with some of the best players in the Premier League. The Delhi-based ISL franchisee roped in former Chelsea veteran Florent Malouda as the marquee player of their side ahead of ISL 2016.
West Brom vs Delhi Dynamos is scheduled to kick-off at 3 p.m. BST (7:30 p.m. IST) on Sept. 3.
Where to watch live
The match will not be shown live on TV, but it will be streamed online on the Facebook page of Delhi Dynamos.
