Fresh from their CFL triumph, Mohun Bagan SG begin their IFA Shield title defence against Sreenidi Deccan with Dilmperis joining the training session.
Kolkata, September 22: The IFA Shield defending champions will kick off their campaign against Sreenidi Deccan tomorrow, after lift their Calcutta Football League 2026 trophy.
Before the IFA Shield 2026 tournament kicks off, the Indian Football Association will award the CFL 2026 champions, Mohun Bagan SG, their winning trophy at the Mohun Bagan ground. The IFA Shield match will then kick off at 3:00 PM.
Ahead of their IFA Shield opener, the Mariners stepped into training with a focused and balanced session with reserve and senior teams footballers. But there was a sight on the training ground as head coach Panagiotis Dilmperis didn’t just watch from the ground to watch out, he joined his players on the pitch, getting involved in the drills and sharing the intensity of the session with the squad, to kept himself fit too.
Samir Zeljkovic and Asish Rai trained separately as they continued to manage their respective injury concerns, while the rest of the squad trained together. Manvir Singh, Abhishek Tekcham and Sahal Abdul Samad were the notable absentees, with the trio currently away with the Indian national team camp preparing for the September 26 friendly against Panama.
With the IFA Shield now set to begin, Mohun Bagan SG will look to carry the winning momentum from their CFL triumph into another title campaign. Despite a few absentees and injury concerns, the Mariners will have enough options from their senior and reserve squads as they begin their title defence against Sreenidi Deccan. All eyes will now be on how the newly crowned CFL champions start their IFA Shield journey.
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