East Bengal to play in England

Kolkata football giants East Bengal will leave for England on July 28 to take part in a four-team invitation tournament organised by Leicester City as part of the club's 120th anniversary celebrations.

They are scheduled to play their inaugural match against the hosts on July 31 at the Walker stadium, club president Pranab Dasgupta told newspersons in Kolkata on Thursday.

Spanish club Real Mallorca and Portugal's Maritimo will clash in the other match on the same day. The winners of the two games will lock horns in the final on August 1.

Ten sports will beam the matches live.

East Bengal's participation in the tournament, a rare European exposure trip for an Indian club, is a fall-out of their three-year agreement with Leicester City in Feburary, under which the two clubs would work together on various fronts including youth player development and exchange of coaches.

The English outfit, which in the past produced goalkeeping legends like Gordon Banks and Peter Shilton, as also the lethal striker Gary Linekar, had simultaneously inked a three-year pact with the All India Football Federation for cooperation on some key areas including youth development and coaching techniques.