Kerala Blasters FC are set to begin their preparations for the upcoming Hero ISL season. They will be flying to the United Arab Emirates for the preseason tour. The ‘Hala Blasters’ tour will be an 11-day tour. It will consist of 3 friendly encounters with UAE Pro League clubs.
The opening match will be against Al Wasl F.C. on the 9th of September at Zabeel Stadium. Followed by match number two against Sharjah Football Club on September 12th at Sharjah Football Stadium. In the final match of the tour, Blasters will face last year’s Pro League Champions Shabab Al-Ahli on September 15th at Shabab Al Ahli Stadium Al Awir Dubai.
Mr. Hassan Ali Ibrahim Al Balooshi, Chairman, of H16 Sports, said, “Our longstanding objective has been the growth of football, and we’re thrilled to announce our partnership with Kerala Blasters FC. We’re excited to host their pre-season event. This marks a new chapter for Indo-Arab football, featuring top-notch clubs, training, and a global fanbase. Cheers to Hala Blasters 2023, 2nd Edition. We also want to express our gratitude to KOMAKO Power, our title sponsor, and extend heartfelt thanks to Mr Supiyan Assinar, Chairman of KOMAKO group, as well as Mr Faisal Punnakkadan, CEO of Green Harvest Investments, for their valuable support.”
“We look forward to three top-level matches that will give the staff and players great preparation towards the final part of preseason. The training facilities, amenities, & fan activities facilitated by H16 last season were great. We look forward to working with them again this year to bring our fans in the region closer to the Club they love.” said Karolis Skinkys, Sporting Director of Kerala Blasters FC.
The Men-in-Yellow from completed a month-long preparatory camp at Kochi. After that, the Blasters participated in the 132nd edition of the Durand Cup where they had to bow out of the group consisting of local rivals Gokulam Kerala FC and Arch rivals Bengaluru FC’s reserve team.
Last season in the Indian Super League, the Blasters finished 5th on the table with 31 points. They were handed out a 0-1 defeat by Bengaluru FC in the Knockout fixture. One of the very memorable nights of the previous season where KBFC walked out of the pitch to display a protest against Sunil Chhetri’s controversial free-kick goal.
This season, KBFC will be looking to end their trophy drought with an eye on ISL and Federation Cup. They will be looking to strengthen the team with these 3 matches against top-tier Emirati clubs.
