AFC Cup 2018: Aizawl FC vs Bengaluru FC match to be rescheduled due to fixture congestion?
What's the story?
This season has seen ISL matches getting rescheduled due to the presence of AFC Cup fixtures involving Bengaluru FC and now it may be the other way round as BFC have progressed to the group stage of the continental competition.
Bengaluru FC, who are also the first team to qualify for the playoffs of ISL 4, may have their opening match of the AFC Cup group stage against Aizawl FC postponed due to the excessive cluttering of games.
In case you didn't know...
Bengaluru FC are in the midst of a stellar season having made it to the ISL playoffs in some style. However, coach Albert Roca had to reshuffle his squad for the AFC Cup qualification games to keep his lads in shape for both the tournaments.
BFC got the better of Bhutan's Transport United and Maldives' TC Sports Club to enter the group stage of the continental competition.
The Blues are scheduled to face Aizawl FC in their first encounter in Group E of AFC Cup on March 7, while their first home match will be against Bangladesh club Dhaka Abahani on March 14.
The heart of the matter
The dates of the two-legged ISL semi-finals are not yet announced but the matches are supposed to take place in the second week of March, which means Bengaluru FC have to play at least four games in seven days - a task which is next to impossible.
Although Bengaluru FC management hasn't yet addressed the issue, a club representative told Sportskeeda that they are expecting a change in the AFC Cup fixtures.
As of now Bengaluru's first AFC Cup match against Aizawl FC might get postponed while other games involving the Blues might also be reshuffled.
What's next?
We will have to wait and see whether the AFC Cup authorities take Bengaluru FC's tricky fixture congestion in account, and reschedule the fixtures accordingly.
Author's take
It will be a welcome move for both the players and fans if the AFC Cup fixtures are rescheduled. Having said that, in case there's no reshuffle in the schedule, it will be interesting to see how Bengaluru FC react. They will definitely not be able to give equal importance to all matches and that might give an idea as to which title means more to the team.