ISL: Kerala Blasters to start their pre-season with match against Kerala United FC on August 20

Kerala Blasters FC will be playing their first pre-season match with Kerala United FC on Friday, August 20, at the Panampilly Nagar ground, Kochi from IST 4 pm.

The squad is being trained under Head Coach Ivan Vukomanovic and his team prior to Indian Super League (ISL) 2021-22. KBFC will also be playing against Kerala United FC once more on August 27 and their last game will be against Jammu & Kashmir Bank FC (J&K Bank XI) on September 3.

Abiding by the Covid protocols, the KBFC players are part of the bio-bubble this season too. All the players have completed their quarantine period before joining the team, and with regular health check-ups, the club aims for a safe and healthy season.

'We are excited to get on the ground and showcase our talented players in the land of such enthusiastic football fans,' Ivan Vukomanovic, Head Coach of KBFC stated in a release.

Earlier in June, Ivan Vukomanovic was appointed as the club's new Head Coach ahead of the Indian Super League (ISL) 2021/22 season. The 43-year-old Vukomanovic began his coaching career as an assistant coach at Belgian club Standard Liege in the 2013-14 season before his promotion in the subsequent term. Under him, the team secured qualification in the UEFA Europa League group stages two years consecutively. During this tenure, he was instrumental in moulding Belgian internationals like Mitchy Batshuayi and Laurent Cimon, amongst many others. He has since managed SK Slovan Bratislava in the Slovak Super Liga, with whom he won the Slovakia National Cup, and was last in charge of Apollon Limassol in the Cypriot First Division.

The pre-season match can be viewed on the Kerala Blasters official YouTube channel.

( With inputs from ANI )