Sheffield FC to also play in Shillong & Guwahati

When Sheffield FC was originally approached to play in India, the visit was only due to last four days to take part in the Platinum Jubilee Cup in Kolkata. However, the world#s first Football Club was then asked if it would extend the trip to include further matches in Guwahati and Shillong; to which it agreed.

Following the Platinum Jubilee Cup, Sheffield will leave Kolkata on 15 November and take an internal flight to Guwahati and then a coach to Shillong, where they will hold a press conference and attend an official dinner hosted by the Government of Meghalaya, before playing local side Shillong Lajong FC on November 16. The following day sees the club return to Guwahati for the final game of the tour.
The exhibition match in Guwahati will be against an Assam XI, with players selected from those taking part in the Dr. T. Ao Football Tournament to be held at Imphal from November 21. The game will be held under floodlights at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium in Sarusajai on November 18.

While they are in India, Sheffield FC will be ambassadors for Sheffield's bid to become a Host City for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, sharing their passion and knowledge about football with the people they meet.

Wayne Coyle, Sheffield2018 bid director, said: "It's great that the world#s first Football Club is helping to develop the sport around the globe. As part of the World Cup bid, we want more people to have access to playing football and Sheffield FC's global brand will help us use football as a tool to tackle other social problems."

"With bid stakeholder Sheffield FC already helping with this in India, we know that Sheffield as a city can use football to make a huge impact on the health and development of people the world over, as well as on home soil."

Sheffield FC leaves for India next Wednesday, November 10 and returns 10 days later having hopefully made many new friends in the Indian sub-continent and had a successful trip.


About Sheffield Football Club

Sheffield FC, the world’s first Football Club, was founded in 1857 and has been officially recognised by the FA and FIFA as the oldest football club in the world.

Sheffield FC competes in the Evo-Stik League Division One South and plays home games at the BT Local Business Stadium in Dronfield.

Sheffield FC was awarded the FIFA International Order of Merit in 2004 (Real Madrid are the only other club in the world to hold this). In 2010 the club also received the Nelson Mandela Sport and Solidarity Award and the International Fair Play Award.