Jawaharlal Nehru stadium in Kochi is all set to witness India's first ever international football pre-season tournament starting from today (July 24). Christened as Toyota Yaris Laliga World, the first match of the tournament will see Indian Super League side Kerala Blasters FC fight Australian A-League club Melbourne City FC.
Melbourne City FC, managed by Warren Joyce, comes after a strong third-place finish in the recently concluded Australian league.
Kerala Blasters, on the other hand, had a disappointing sixth-place finish in Indian Super League season 4. Managed by David James, the tuskers have rejigged the teams, bringing local boys Anas Edathodika from Jamshedpur FC, Zakeer Mundampara from Mumbai City FC, and Abdul Hakku Nediyodath from NorthEast United.
Kerala Blasters FC also added Halicharan Narzary, Seiminlen Doungel, Dheeraj Singh Moirangthem and Naveen Kumar while new foreign recruits are Matej Poplatnik, Slavisa Stojanovic and Cyril Kali.
The third club participating the tournament is La Liga's Girona FC. It will be Girona's maiden trip to India after a stellar season in Spain in which they sabotage LaLiga giant Real Madrid FC.
Fixtures and time
All Toyota Yaris Laliga World match has been scheduled at 7 pm and all matches will be held at at the Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium in Kaloor, Kochi.
- Kerala Blasters FC vs Melbourne City FC on July 24, Tuesday
- Girona FC vs Melbourne City FC on July 27, Friday
- Kerala Blasters FC vs Girona FC on July 28, Saturday
How to watch online and on TV?
The Star Sports Network has the right to broadcast Toyota Yaris Laliga World pre-season tournament. It will telecast the all the matches Star Sports 2 and Star Sports 2 HD TV channels while digital and mobile entertainment platform Hotstar will offer live online streaming
Tickets and price
The tickets for the tournament are available through the ticketing partner, PayTM- https://insider.in/toyota-yaris-laliga-world/. Ticket prices start at Rs 275 and go all the way up to Rs 6000 for Owner's Box.
Kerala Blasters FC squad
Some new faces, some familiar - Here's the squad for @TYLLW2018 ! ?#KeralaBlasters #ToyotaYarisLaligaWorld #MCFC #GIR #Squad pic.twitter.com/d3EmplTVGw
— Kerala Blasters FC (@KeralaBlasters) July 18, 2018
Melbourne City FC squad
?? We're on our way to India to take on @KeralaBlasters and @GironaFC! See our full touring squad. ???? pic.twitter.com/2LfaaiMI58
— Melbourne City FC (@MelbourneCity) July 18, 2018