SRINAGAR: After two years, Real Kashmir Football Club (RKFC) is set to play the first home game of Hero Honda I-League 2022-2023 on Saturday against Rajasthan United Football Club at Synthetic Turf TRC Srinagar.
In the first match of this season, the RKFC defeated Noroca FC in Imphal.
While on Saturday, the team will take on Rajasthan United Football Club with fans excited to watch the match. It is scheduled to start at 2 pm and will be live on several sports channels.
Divisional Commissioner Kashmir P K Pole is likely to be chief guest while Secretary Sports Council Nuzhat Gul to be guest of honour.
Addressing a pre-match conference on Friday, Rajasthan United FC Coach Pushpander Kundu said they are excited to play tomorrow’s match.
“We won the previous match and now want to defeat RKFC on its home ground. RKFC is playing in front of fans which will give them an advantage,” Kundu said.
RKFC head coach Mehraj Uddin Wadoo said the team is excited to play its first home match of I-League this season.
“We are prepared to play our first home game in Kashmir. It is a great season for us till now as we won the first match against Naroca FC,” he said.
“It has been almost two months since we have started pre-seasons. It is a new team and almost every player is new. We have got new staff. I think everyone is trying to put their best on the field and we are really looking forward to having a great season,” he said.
When asked after two seasons, the team will finally get to play I-League matches in front of the fans. How much are you looking forward to having them? he replied, “Fans are very important for us and they are playing a very good part because we have seen in previous years when fans were cheering for our players. It was a huge advantage for RKFC. We are very excited to play in front of fans. We also make sure we put 100 percent on the field and make fans happy.”
Asked that RKFC has roped in a new head coach after multiple seasons under David Robertson, how he approaches such a situation, he replied, “David Robertson has done a great job over the years with RKFC and laid the foundation. Right now I am in charge and we are trying to play competitive and effective football and making sure that we play attacking football and win matches.”
