King’s Cup: Fixture announced, why is it so important for Indian football?


XtraTime Web Desk:
 The fixture announced as The Football Association of Thailand declared the draw for the 47th King’s Cup on May 8, where India to play against the Curacao national team. Whereas the hosts Thailand will play against Vietnam.
 
Both the matches will be played at the Chang Arena Stadium, Buriram on June 5.
 
The respective winners will lock horns against each other in the final on June 8 and the third-place match will be held earlier on the same day.
 
As per April 2019 FIFA Rankings, India are ranked 101, with Thailand at 114, Vietnam at 98, and Curacao at 82.
 
The King’s Cup is a FIFA-sanctioned international ‘A’ tournament being organised by the Thailand FA since 1968. India’s previous participation in the King’s Cup was in 1977.
 
This is the first time in 18 years that the Blue Tigers will be playing in a FIFA Ranking tournament, the last being the Merdeka Tournament in Kuala Lumpur in 2001.