Why East Bengal vs FC Goa clash is moved to Bhubaneswar

Not only East Bengal, but similar action might be taken for Mohun Bagan's AFC Cup game as well.

East Bengal will be forced to play their next Indian Super League (ISL) match at Bhubaneswar, Odisha against FC Goa on 21 September 2023. This was only announced recently due to the ISL organizers not being willing to move that game to an earlier or later date.

As it might be known, the Durga Puja festivities will be ongoing in Kolkata from October 20-24. That is why the game cannot be held at the City of Joy or at the Salt Lake Stadium, which has been hosting home matches for both East Bengal and Mohun Bagan over this campaign.

The Kolkata police would not be able to provide enough security assurances that is necessary for hosting ISL games and the organizers had to make a decision to move it to Odisha as a result. This basically means that East Bengal lose out on home advantage in one of their 10 ‘home’ games this season, having to play in another state outside West Bengal against the Gaurs.

Tickets for the match have already been released on BookMyShow, but the Red & Gold Brigade might not see that many fans from West Bengal travel for the game due to the Durga Puja festivities. The Durga Puja is considered as the biggest holy period of the entire year among the Bengali community and fans will probably be gutted that the match couldn’t be rescheduled.

With that being said, East Bengal also have a healthy fan community in Odisha – who are likely to attend the game to give them a lot of support during the match. While the turnout at the Kalinga Stadium might not be as prominent as it would’ve been had the game been held in Kolkata, it still might have enough of an attendance to revitalize the East Bengal players.

The Red  & Gold Brigade actually might not be the only team hampered by scheduling issues during the festive season. Mohun Bagan are also likely to be forced to play their upcoming AFC Cup group stage game against Bangladesh giants Bashundhara Kings at the Kalinga Stadium due to their match (on September 24) clashing with the Dussehra festivities.

Moreover, it’s also likely that the Kolkata Derby scheduled for October 28 be shifted to a later date because of the Kolkata police not being able to give enough security personnel due to the Cricket World Cup match between the Netherlands and Bangladesh taking place at the Eden Gardens on the same date. East Bengal are coming off a bitter 2-1 loss to Bengaluru FC in the ISL and will aim to get back to winning ways against FC Goa, irrespective of where the game takes place.