Dozens of fans gathered outside the Heathrow International Airport in London to welcome East Bengal’s under-21 side which arrived here to participate in the Next Gen Cup in England. Many of them were wearing the club's jersey. Beside East Bengal, Punjab FC and Muthoot FA were the other two teams from India which will face youth sides of Premier League clubs Aston Villa, Tottenham Hotspur and Crystal Palace and defending champion Stellenbosch FC from South Africa.
East Bengal fans Welcomed the side with banners and flags, with the players posing with them after arriving in England.
“East Bengal’s legacy is over 100 years and their fanbase is one of the biggest in the world,” Dipanjan Nandi, who works as a Senior Integration Architect and has been in the UK for over eight years, said.
Some fans arrived at the team hotel with a cake, a greeting card filling the lobby with joy.
“I started supporting East Bengal when I was six and my father had taken me to the stadium on his shoulders. I remember we had won that match (1-0 All Airlines Gold Cup final) in 1992 and I had returned on the shoulders of other fans,” Nandi, who is also part of the Red and Gold World fan forum, recollects.
As one of the top three teams in the tournament, it will play in the Next Gen Cup between August 1 and 4, with its first match scheduled against Crystal Palace. However, only the final is expected to be open to fans – something that has left them heartbroken.
