Indian Super League 2019-20 Fixtures: Kerala Blasters to host two-time champions ATK in season opener

The sixth season of the Indian Super League (ISL) will get underway on 20 October 2019 with two-time finalists Kerala Blasters hosting two-time champions ATK at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi. Defending champions Bengaluru FC will play their first game at home against NorthEast United FC a day later. [caption id=“attachment_6278891” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Bengaluru FC celebrate winning their first ISL title last season. Image courtesy: ISL[/caption] The league fixtures conclude on 23 February 2020 with Delhi Dynamos hosting Kerala Blasters. This will be followed by the playoff matches - semi-finals and final - and their dates and venues will be revealed at a later date. Despite rumours of FC Pune City disbanding and the franchise moving to Hyderabad, the team has stayed intact and play their first fixture away to ATK on 25 October. Their first home game is a week later when they host Kerala Blasters on 2 November. Delhi Dynamos also fielded rumours of shutting shop or at least moving to Odisha for their home matches but that hasn’t been entirely put to rest. For now, Delhi Dynamos begin their season away to Jamshedpur FC with their first home game not until 24 November. The season plays regular football until 10 November (Bengaluru FC vs Chennaiyin FC) when there is a break for international football. At this juncture, India play Afghanistan (14 November) and Oman (19 November) in away games as part of the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers. The action resumes on 23 November with Bengaluru FC once again at home to Kerala Blasters at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium. ATK play host to Bengaluru FC on Christmas Day with a break to non-stop football during the New Year’s time. The complete schedule of the 10-team league can be seen here.