What happened the last time Indian football team played at Kanteerava Stadium?

India are ranked 138th in the FIFA global rankings.

In a new high for the Indian football team and its fans, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) are suddenly serious about the prospect of taking the Indian national team to more and more fans across the country. In a bid to do so, they have scheduled three high-quality international friendlies during the September–October international break. All three opponents are ranked in the top 50 of the FIFA global rankings and featured in the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

A federation that doesn’t even care about the telecast or broadcast of the national team’s matches until the last minute are now launching new kits for these games, shooting promos, posting training videos and even making videos of their own players speaking about the upcoming games, along with other fun content. While fans have demanded this for years and years, it’s good to see it finally happening, at least in the year of the presidential elections.

The first of the three friendlies is against 44th-ranked Panama at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru on September 25, 2026, at 19:30 IST. Panama recently featured in the 2026 FIFA World Cup and were grouped alongside England, Croatia and Ghana. Although they ended their campaign with zero points and were eliminated in the group stage, a World Cup-playing nation is always miles ahead in terms of quality and experience compared to 138th-ranked India.

However, with the excitement among the fans and players ahead of these three big games, we can never rule out the Indian national team pulling a trick out of their hat and at least getting a draw to put smiles on the faces of the fans. While the above might seem almost impossible against Brazil and Uruguay, against Panama, one would hope (in delusion) the chances are relatively better, although it is still a huge uphill task.

And at the Kanteerava, never rule the Blue Tigers out. There is something about this place that makes the players put up better performances against better-ranked teams, just like how they did in the 2023 SAFF Championship.

As Khalid Jamil and his boys prepare for an uphill task against the Panamanian team, let’s take a look at the special memory they created for the fans the last time they played at the same ground.

India’s last clash at the Kanteerava was in 2023

Although the national team usually trains in Bengaluru, the last time the Indian men’s senior national team played in the city was during the 2023 SAFF Championship, with the entire tournament being conducted there. India played five games and ended the tournament unbeaten, defeating Lebanon and Kuwait in the semi-finals and final respectively on penalties to clinch the title.

In the final against Kuwait, the visitors got off to a perfect start as they took the lead in the 14th minute, giving themselves an early advantage. However, the Blue Tigers fought back bravely, with Chhangte levelling the score before half-time to make it 1-1 going into the break.

Both teams kept pushing for the winner throughout the 90 minutes but were unable to find one. Even the 30 minutes of extra time couldn’t help settle the contest, as both teams headed into a penalty shootout to determine the 2023 SAFF champion.

Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, the ever-present wall between the sticks for the Indian national team over the years, stood strong and bailed India out to clinch the championship at home in front of their fans. It took India’s trophy count to three in the summer of 2023 alone – a golden period for Indian football fans, when the country also broke into the top 100 of the FIFA rankings.

Close to 25,000 fans turned up for the match and celebrated the win, patriotically singing Vande Mataram from the stands to push the players even further and get them over the line. While it all felt magical and fantastic, the AIFF have failed to replicate the same this time around, with most of the stands still yet to sell out even just 24 hours before kick-off.

The reason? The unrealistic prices set by the federation, seemingly trying to price the fans out while hoping they would still pay that much to watch a 138th-ranked team. For instance, a ticket that cost ₹499 on that day is being sold for ₹1,999 for the Panama clash; a four-fold increase in price, despite the Indian national team’s ranking having dropped by close to 40 places.

For more updates, follow Khel Now on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram; download the Khel Now Android App or IOS App and join our community on Telegram.