PUNE: Indian Super League (ISL) club FC Pune City have announced their participation in the second edition of the Association for the Well-being of Elder Sportspersons (AWES) Cup in Goa starting 29th August.
The association was formed last year to honour the achievements and exploits of Indian football legends of yesteryears as the tournament is expected to once again raise funds for their financial and medical needs.
FC Pune City CEO Gaurav Modwel said: “AWES Cup is played for a noble cause and we are glad to be a part of this. Having said that, it also is a very competitive tournament and it will give our team a good platform to test their skills and execute plans in match conditions. It will also help the coach to figure out what the team needs to work on for the upcoming season and most importantly, the team will get a great opportunity to gel together and find sync in real situations.”
In the last edition of AWES Cup, FC Pune City Reserves squad went upto the semi finals stage before losing to Dempo Sports Club 1-0. But this time around, the club has decided to participate in the event with their entire first team squad. FC Pune City is placed along with Dempo SC, Salgaocar FC and ISL rivals FC Goa in Group A.
Head coach Miguel Angel Portugal believes that besides training hard, match practice is the best way to evaluate the preparations for the upcoming 2018-19 season. “It is important for us to understand how’s the pre-season training helping the team and how the team is shaping up for the 2018-19 season. Playing AWES Cup will give us a clear indication of what we need to work on. Having said that, we aren’t going to the tournament to just participate.”
