The Indian broadcasting baron, Viacom18 has acquired media rights for the upcoming Intercontinental Cup 2024, a three-nation tournament organised by the All India Football Federation (AIFF).
Following the deal, the football competition, which will be held from September 3 to 9, will be broadcast on Sports18 3 and streamed live on JioCinema.
🚨 𝐁𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐔𝐩𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞 🚨
— Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) August 22, 2024
The Intercontinental Cup 2024 will be broadcast live on Sports18 3 and streamed live on @JioCinema 🙌
All matches will kick off at 7:30 PM.#IndianFootball ⚽ pic.twitter.com/p1luNh9h5Q
This will be the Intercontinental Cup’s fourth edition, following the first competition in Mumbai in 2018. The remaining two editions were held in Ahmedabad (2019) and Bhubaneshwar (2023). India won the championship in 2018 and 2023.
The other two teams in the tournament, along with India, are Syria (93rd in the latest FIFA rankings) and Mauritius (179th). The Blue Tigers are presently ranked 124th and will look to win the competition and secure a position in Pot 1 before the AFC Asian Cup 2027 qualification round three draws. The preparatory camp will begin in Hyderabad on August 31.
India will first play on September 3 against Mauritius and later take on Syria on September 9. The other two teams will face each other on September 6. All the games will kick off at 7:30 PM IST.
Notably, this will be India’s first full-fledged competition without the captain, Sunil Chhetri. Additionally, it is also India’s first event with new manager Manolo Marquez in charge.
On Wednesday, the new manager unveiled his 26-man squad for the upcoming event. Marquez, who has recently replaced Igor Stimac as head coach, has made substantial adjustments to the team, bringing in nine new players compared to the squad that competed in the World Cup qualifiers against Kuwait and Qatar in June.