According to reports, Arsenal and Manchester United legends like Thierry Henry and Paul Scholes will be playing in India this June. The Western India Football Association and Goa Football Association have been asked by Indo Global Foundation to prepare for these high profile matches.
The Cooperage, Mumbai, has been selected to host the first match on June 3, while Nehru Stadium in Fatorda, Goa will be the second venue; the second match is scheduled on June 7 reported The Times of India. Initially, Delhi was chosen as the venue but looking at the response Robert Pires received during the Indian Super League (ISL), Goa was chosen over Delhi.
"They have already booked the ground with us. According to what we have been told, there will be 32 players, 26 of whom would be World Cuppers. The organisers plan to make this an annual affair for the next five years," said Western India Football Association CEO Henry Menezes in an interview.
Indo Global Foundation refused to disclose the name of the other legends who would feature in these two games but they confirmed that the Masters Cup matches will be hosted in India. "We have confirmation but we will be happy to release the names at a press conference early next month. If we announce the names now, the charm will be lost," said Saurav Chakravarthi from the Indo Global Foundation in an interview to The Times of India.
"I can only confirm that there will be 10 marquee players. As for the rest of the squad members, the minimum requirement for a player to be included is to have 100 caps, although, in some cases, we are willing to relax that clause," added Saurav.
The organisers claimed that the Masters Cup will showcase the legends like Robert Pires, Ryan Giggs, David Seanman, Louis Saha and Mikel Silvestre.
