Bengaluru FC awarded AFC Cup play-off berth for next season
Mohun Bagan-ATK secured a direct qualification to the AFC Cup group stage by virtue of Mohun Bagan finishing as the champions of the I-League, while FC Goa will play in the AFC Champions League. On the other hand, Bengaluru FC was awarded the remaining AFC Cup spot, as announced by the AIFF.
By virtue of finishing at the top of the league table, FC Goa was already awarded the coveted Champions League spot. The remaining two spots were supposed to be given to the winners of the ISL and I-League. Meanwhile, Mohun Bagan merged with ATK and the respective teams won the ISL and I-League trophies, which put AIFF in a spot of bother regarding the third continental spot. Finally, Bengaluru FC, the third-placed team in the group stages was given the ticket. Reflecting on the decision, Bengaluru FC CEO Mandar Tamhane felt that the club deserved to represent India at the continental stage.
“A publication wrote an article with a quote from a senior official in AIFF and mentioned about the runner up team from ISL final being the team that goes. I knew that that was not right and I had to check with AFC if this was correct. This happened two and a half months ago. Based on the sporting criteria defined by AFC and how the league table functions, this was the obvious decision that was going to come,” said Mandar Tamhane, as reported by Deccan Herald.
Bengaluru FC’s record in the AFC Cup has been impressive, with them having finished as the runners-up in the 2016 edition, having lost to Iraqi side Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya in the final. This time, though, they were not slated to feature in the event, but the Mohun Bagan-ATK merger worked in their favour.
“It is only because Bagan took the route via I-league to qualify for AFC that BFC got a chance. If they had taken their ISL slot, then a team from the I-league should have gone,” added Tamhane.
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