Chennai City FC (CCFC) is set to make a return to Chennai for the home leg of the AFC Cup group stages.
The defending I-League champion will kick off its maiden appearance in the competition against Maziya S&RC on March 11 here at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.
CCFC had shifted base to Coimbatore in 2017 due to the steep rental charges to play its I-League matches in the city.
‘Good to be back home’
“It’s good to be back home,” said CCFC owner Rohit Ramesh.
“We wanted to play out of Coimbatore but the venue didn’t meet the AFC norms.”
Japan's Katsumi Yusa, who will fulfil the Asian foreign player quota, will be among the four foreigners eligible in the tournament for the club.
“The coach (Akbar Nawas) will decide on who the four foreigners will be after the match against Mohun Bagan on Thursday,” said Rohit.
Chennai City is placed seventh on the table with 19 points and lost key striker Pedro Manzi halfway through the season, when he moved to Japanese club Albirex Niigata.
Rodriguez fit
Attacking midfielder Sandro Rodriguez, who is yet to feature for the club this season due to a cartilage injury to his right leg, is now fully fit.
CCFC is placed in Group E alongside Bangladesh’s Bashundhara Kings, Maldives’ Maziya and TC Sports Club.
Last year, Indian Super League club Chennaiyin FC played its AFC Cup home games at the Arena by TransStadia in Ahmedabad after it failed to get the approval from the SDAT (Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu) in time to play the matches out of the Nehru Stadium.
Rohit also added that the club will take care of the expenses of bringing its fan clubs Southerners and Roaring Lions based in Coimbatore, for the home games in Chennai.
