Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik bought the first ticket for the upcoming Intercontinental Cup 2023 that will be played at Bhubaneswar from 9-18 June. Captain of the Indian Football team, Sunil Chhetri handed the first ticket for the marquee event to the Chief Minister in the presence of Dr. Shaji Prabhakaran, the General Secretary of the All-India Football Federation and Coach of the Indian Football team, Igor Stimac.
The Intercontinental Cup is set to kick off on 9 June with Lebanon taking on Vanuatu while the home team India will be taking on Mongolia in their first game of the campaign.
Following the success of the FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup 2023 Bhubaneswar-Rourkela, Odisha is all set to host yet another international sporting spectacle. This four-nation tournament will feature India, Lebanon, Mongolia, and Vanuatu.
Odisha has been emerging as a major hub for football as well. Odisha hosted the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup 2022, SAFF U-20 Championship 2022, ISL seasons, IWL 2021-22, and the Odisha Women’s League thus providing a huge boost to the development of Football ecosystem in the state.
In partnership with AIFF, the capital city of Bhubaneswar is also the base of the Indian U16 and U19 teams, frequently hosting camps and training sessions at the state-of-the-art infrastructure.
