India to play in King's Cup in June

New Delhi, April 9 (IANS) The Indian football team will be playing in the invitational King's Cup in Thailand in June, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) announced in a statement.

All matches will be held at the Chang Arena, Buriram, which has a seating capacity of 36,000.

Besides India, and hosts Thailand, the other teams in the competition are Vietnam and Curacao.

As per the April 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 tournament being organised by the Football Association of Thailand since 1968. India's previous participation in the King's Cup was in 1977.

Two matches will be held on June 5, the winners of which qualify for the final. The two other teams would be playing the play-off for the 3rd spot.

This is the first time in 18 years that India will be playing in a FIFA Ranking tournament, the last being the Merdeka Tournament in Kuala Lumpur in 2001.

The 2018 edition of the King's Cup was won by Slovakia when they beat Thailand 3-2 in a thriller in the final, while Gabon beat UAE 1-0 to clinch the 3rd place.