KARACHI: Reigning Pakistan Premier Football League champions K-Electric (KE) are set to depart for Bangladesh at the 2015 Sheikh Kamal International Club Cup on Saturday, with the tournament scheduled to begin on October 20 in Chittagong, Bangladesh.
KE were also the first team from Pakistan to progress in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Cup qualifiers in August under the guidance of UEFA certified coach Majid Shafiq after a three-week camp in Karachi.
After having attended a short training camp, KE will take on the clubs in Bangladesh and captain Essa Khan believes that the team can win the championship. “We have the potential to win the event,” Essa told The Express Tribune. “Plus it’s going to be a very useful tournament because we will be playing the AFC Cup’s next round in Bangladesh as well.”
Essa added that KE’s first match in Group B against India’s East Bengal FC on October 21 will be a key fixture. “East Bengal is one of the best clubs in our region, so we’re looking forward to kick off our campaign against them.”
KE are pitted against East Bengal FC, Dhaka Abahani and Chittagong Abahani in their group.
The event is also featuring Dhaka Muhammadan FC, Sri Lanka’s Solid FC, India’s Kolkatta Mohammadan FC and Afghanistan’s De Spin Ghar Bazan FC.
KE manager Zabe Khan said that the team is aiming for nothing less than the title, with the tournament offering a prize-money of US$25,000 to the winners and US$10,000 to the runners-up.