KOCHI: India’s first official international football pre-season tournament, Toyota Yaris LaLiga World, will be held here with Indian Super League club Kerala Blasters FC, A-League’s Melbourne City FC and Girona FC from LaLiga locking horns in a three-way tournament.
The three sides will play across five days at the Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium in Kochi, starting on the 24th of July.
The Toyota Yaris LaLiga World has been created to showcase India as a pre-season football destination for clubs around the globe, with an aim to creating a calendar event at a grand scale. The tournament will celebrate the growing love and passion for the game in the country and provide top-notch football action to Indian fans who crave for a world–class experience.
This edition spans three continents and promises to be a truly international event. One of ISL’s biggest clubs, Kerala Blasters FC, will look to kick-start their pre-season playing these top foreign clubs at home. Australian club Melbourne City FC, managed by Warren Joyce, will come in after a strong third-placed finish in the recently concluded and hotly contested A-League, the best finish by the club in their history.
LaLiga’s Girona FC will look to add Spanish flavour on their maiden trip to India, becoming only the second team from Europe’s top five leagues to bring a team to the country.
Girona’s matches will take place against Kerala Blasters on Saturday, 28th July, and Melbourne City on Friday, 27th July. All matches will have a 19:00 IST kick off (local time).
Founded on 23 July 1930, Girona FC have had two seasons to remember, promotion from LaLiga 123 in 2016-17, the first in their near 88-year history, followed by a 10th place finish in LaLiga Santander.
It was the league’s governing body that helped to bring one of its top ten sides to India, a watershed moment for top European teams visiting the country.
Girona FC, nicknamed ‘Gironis’ won the hearts of the neutrals last season with spirited displays against some of the giants of the division. The LaLiga side were boosted by the goals from top scorer Cristhian Stuani who found the net 21 times last season. The Uruguay international who is representing his country at the 2018 FIFA World Cup finished 5th in the LaLiga top scorers chart.
Jose Cachaza, country manager India, LaLiga expressed his delight at the news. “We promised LaLiga fans in India that one day we’d bring a top side to the country, and we’ve delivered on that. This is a special moment for a sports mad country, and we are delighted that Girona FC have decided to make this historic trip.
In the last 12 months, we have had 20,000 fans attend an el Clasico public viewing in Delhi; we have been able to bring to India LaLiga ambassador’s such as Gaizka Mendieta and Gianlucca Zambrotta. We have so much more to announce for our fans in India in the coming weeks. This is just the start.”
Also present in the Kerala state capital for the announcement was LaLiga ambassador Fernando Morientes. The former Real Madrid and Valencia striker had this to say: “It’s a real privilege for me to be in India again. I was here in September 2016 when LaLiga first started their operations, and today is a special day when we can bring one of our teams to India for the fans to enjoy in person. It will be a special moment when Girona FC run out at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium. I look forward to seeing the fans showing their support in numbers, and the announcement goes to show the interest in LaLiga across India.”
N Raja, deputy managing director, Toyota Kirloskar Motors expressing his delight, said: “We are happy to support the Toyota Yaris Laliga World Football Tournament along with our dealer partner Nippon Toyota, which has roped in the finest talents from international clubs. Toyota intends to extend its immense support to continue its initiatives to create inclusive community around the world through sport. We are happy to associate one of the most celebrated products globally with this tournament-Toyota Yaris. The excitement of the game will further add to the success of the product in the state of Kerala. Yaris resonates the same passion, commitment and excellence that drives the game of football. We hope all the clubs give their best performance and wish them every success for this season. We will continue to promote development of sports activities in the country.”
Nippon Toyota has taken an initiative called The World United with the promise to bring top-flight international football to India and across the globe. Toyota Yaris LaLiga World heralds the beginning of this visionary idea.
MAM Babu Moopan, chairman and MD, Nippon Toyota, said: “The Toyota Yaris LaLiga World is a landmark event as this is India’s first official pre-season tournament involving top-flight international clubs. And it could not have happened at a better venue than Kochi, a city that has football in its DNA. We expect the Kerala fans to come out in large numbers in their club colours and hope they show the same affection for the touring teams too. Given the rising popularity of the sport in India, The World United is planning to make this event an annual property with more clubs participating each year and the initiative traveling to different continents.”
Vivek Sethia, CEO, India On Track, a company that is a co-promoter of the tournament, said: “The vision behind this initiative was to host an international football event in India that could build on the excitement after the FIFA U-17 World Cup. Kerala is fast emerging as the new football capital of India and hence we feel it is the right place to host this stature of an international pre-season tournament. The aim is to showcase and share the skills, passion and knowledge about the game. We believe that Toyota Yaris LaLiga World will be a milestone in Indian Football, helping the sport grow to greater strengths.”
Varun Tripuraneni, CEO, Kerala Blasters FC said: “This will be a perfect start to our pre-season preparations as we play against two international clubs of great repute. It will be a treat for football fans in Kochi and we are expecting the crowd to come out in large numbers and enjoy some high quality football.”
Delfí Geli, president, Girona FC said: “It is an honour for our club to participate in this tournament in India. For Girona FC it will be a special experience as it will be the first time our team has played away from Europe since its foundation 88 years ago. We are looking forward to starting the tournament and showing the football that we’ve displayed in LaLiga to the Indian football fans and the world.”
Scott Munn, CEO Melbourne City FC noted: “This is Melbourne City’s first ever visit to India, and the whole squad are incredibly excited about meeting the fans in Kochi and playing in front of such a passionate crowd. High-quality opposition is an important part of our pre-season preparation, and we are delighted to be taking on both Kerala Blasters and our sister-club Girona FC in this brand new tournament.”
Tickets for the tournament will start at Rs 275 and will be available through the official ticketing partner PayTM.
