'Finally Guwahati' - Excited Indian football fans react as AIFF name home venues for FIFA World Cup qualifiers

Rutvij is a contributor at Khel Now since 2018, mainly covering Indian Football & Indian Sports.

Published at :September 2, 2023 at 6:59 PM

Modified at :September 2, 2023 at 7:00 PM

'Finally Guwahati' - Excited Indian football fans react as AIFF name home venues for FIFA World Cup qualifiers

Some fans opined displeasure on the selection of Bhubaneswar for the FIFA World Cup qualifiers.

All India Football Federation (AIFF), the governing body of football in India have announced Guwahati and Bhubaneswar as the venues for the home games in the round 2 of the upcoming joint qualifiers of FIFA World Cup 2026 and AFC Asian Cup 2027.

According to the press release circulated by the federation, Bhubaneswar will host the Qatar game on November 21st, while Guwahati will host the winner of Mongolia or Afghanistan in March next year. The venue for the last home game will be announced later, read the release.

The Indian Football Twitter (X) community reacted to the decision and here are the best tweets:

https://twitter.com/Footballindia01/status/1697848103225967020?s=20

https://twitter.com/JuggernautsOFC/status/1697841703196205212?s=20

https://twitter.com/NeelChakrabarty/status/1697849146080997733?s=20

https://twitter.com/rakeshrussell52/status/1697849792024764754?s=20

https://twitter.com/quadir__razvi/status/1697818825096671565?s=20

https://twitter.com/memohshu/status/1697851211683352869?s=20

However, on a flip side, a large chunk of fans have expressed their displeasure with Bhubaneswar getting the nod. Fans have complained that the atmosphere at the venue last time during the Hero Intercontinental Cup was dull and the attendance was not upto the mark.

https://twitter.com/KshitijDhankar/status/1697853794988810391?s=20

https://twitter.com/Soumik37/status/1697849205631639613?s=20

https://twitter.com/RishavC03/status/1697845731397423391?s=20

https://twitter.com/abhishekraj531/status/1697841259094888711?s=20

https://twitter.com/mandalankan19/status/1697818419826246078?s=20

https://twitter.com/biscuitlifebett/status/1697844893635490300?s=20

https://twitter.com/sharvilak11/status/1697856766556393682?s=20

https://twitter.com/jagannath_15/status/1697822137975996749?s=20

https://twitter.com/gabbar_biran/status/1697818151340372170?s=20

Rutvij Joshi

As a passionate sportswriter with a keen eye for Indian football, sports, and cricket, Rutvij's journey through sports journalism has been exhilarating with a deep-rooted love for the beautiful game. He has covered the dynamic and ever-evolving landscape of Indian football.