Reports: Arsenal and Manchester United legends to play in India in June this year

Arsenal and Manchester United legends including the likes of Thierry Henry and Paul Scholes are set to play in India this year. The Western India Football Association (WIFA) and Goa Football Association (GFA) have been asked to begin preparations to host the legends of the two clubs.

Mumbai, Maharashtra and Fatorda, Goa have been chosen as the venues for the two high-profile Masters Cup matches. The Cooperage will play host to the football stars on June 3rd, while the Nehru Stadium in Goa will be hosting the other match on June 7th.

WIFA CEO Henry Menezes confirmed the news saying they’ve been told that out of the 32 players who’ll be descending to India for the match, 26 have represented their countries at the FIFA World Cup.

“They have already booked the ground with us. According to what we have been told, there will be 32 players, 26 of whom would be World Cuppers. The organizers plan to make this an annual affair for the next five years,” said Menezes.

Big names to feature

The foundation responsible for organizing this, Indo Global Foundation, confirmed that the matches will take place, but stopped short of revealing the names who will take part in the Masters Cup.

Mails exchanged between the organizers, state associations and the AIFF have listed the former Premier League stars like Henry, Scholes, Phil Neville, Nicky Butt, Ryan Giggs, Robert Pires, Denis Irwin, Louis Saha, David Seaman, Andy Cole, Mikael Silvestre, Dwight Yorke and Paul Parker as the players who’ll be taking part.

Saurav Chakravarthi from the Indo Global Foundation revealed, “We have confirmation, but we will be happy to release the names at a press conference early next month. If we announce the names now, the charm will be lost.

“I can only confirm that there will be 10 marquee players. As for the rest of the squad members, the minimum requirement for a player to be included is to have 100 caps, although, in some cases, we are willing to relax that clause,” Saurav concluded.

The players are expected to take part in grassroots football activities in Goa and Mumbai during their stay in the sub-continent.