The first leg of the revamped Federation Cup is all set to witness the number four and five finishers of the recently concluded I-League in action when Sporting Clube de Goa take on Mumbai FC here tomorrow.
The second leg is to be played in Goa on May 4, and the winner in aggregate will sail through to round two.
In its new format, the tournament appears to be just an extension of the national league, which concluded last Sunday.
"It can be said," said the host team's coach Khalid Jamil when asked whether he felt that Federation Cup was just an extension of the I-League with eight out of the nine teams are the same that played in the league.
"It's a new format. We will know whether it's useful or not after the conclusion of the tournament. But I feel it's a good format and will be useful," he added.
Sporting coach Mateus Costa said: "It's just an extension from there (I-League). What they have tried is something new. What they have done is good. Players want to play tough tournaments and this is the toughest in the country."
Sporting, who defeated MFC in Goa and drew the game here when the hosts were down to 10 men, will be without their Nigerian striker, Odafa Okolie, who had scored six goals in the I-League, and injured midfielder Mahmoud Al Amna.
"Both have not travelled here. Odafa has a knee problem. We took him to Kolkata (to play against East Bengal), but he could not continue. We have given him a break. Right now he's not in good shape," said Costa.
