Chennai: Chennaiyin FC B will commence their 2nd Division League campaign against southern rivals Kerala Blasters reserves on Monday, 14 January at the Panampilly Ground in Kochi.
In their second consecutive appearance in the second tier of Indian football, CFC B are pitted against Bengaluruās Ozona FC and South United FC, and Fateh Hyderabad AFC apart from KBFC in Group B. The ties will be played on a home-away basis with CFC contesting their home games at the SSN College ground here.
Under the tutelage of Sameer Shaikh, a former Youth Development Coach at DSK Shivajians, CFC B have been training in Goa over the last three weeks. The CFC B squad comprises talent from the state and around the country, including a number of CFC U-18 boys who qualified for the final round of the 2018-19 Hero Elite League recently.
Having finished bottom of their group with two wins in last seasonās 2nd Division League, the CFC B players with an average age of 18 years garnered some valuable big-game exposure from competing against senior professional teams like Mohammedan Sporting (Kolkata), Langsning FC (Shillong) and Tiddim Road Athletic Union FC (Imphal).
Their aim will be to improve on last yearās showing while focusing on their overall development and growth.
CFC B is one of six Indian Super League clubs (except NorthEast United FC, Mumbai City FC, FC Pune City and Delhi Dynamos FC) fielding reserve teams in the preliminary round of the 16- team 2nd Division League.
The preliminary round group winners from Group A and Group B and the top two teams from Group C will progress to the final round. However, if an ISL reserve team finishes in the qualifying positions, the slot will be passed on to the next non-ISL team.