COIMBATORE: Chennai City FC is geared up for the forthcoming season of I-League and will play its home matches in Coimbatore with the first game on December 23.

The team, which made its debut in the I-League last season, would play nine matches at the Nehru Stadium, with the first being against Kolkata giants East Bengal on December 23.

The stadium is being renovated for the purpose, said Chennai City FC owner Rohit Ramesh.

The League gets underway on November 25 and Chennai City plays its first match against Indian Arrows on November 29 at Goa.

Ramesh said he was happy to bring football to Coimbatore adding it would also help promote the sport.

“It’s going to be a huge task in terms of money and many more but I believe the football-loving people of Coimbatore and the corporate companies will come forward to travel with us in our journey to promote this sport,” he said.

He said it is not only about promoting football. “We are actually shaping heroes out of the State players. Eighty per cent of the players are from Tamil Nadu. We want to give them a chance and bring the best out of them that they may represent the big stage in the years to come.

After a long time, Nehru Stadium here would see some of the top teams such as East Bengal, Mohun Bagan and Churchill Brothers among others in action, in the I-League, which would run till April next.

The Chennai City FC coach V Soundararajan was happy with the team’s preparations and said they were looking forward to the opening match against Arrows.

The team officially launched its jersey at a function last night in the presence of Tamil Nadu Minister for Municipal Administration and Rural Development S P Velumani and Minister for Youth Welfare and Sports Development P Balakrishna Reddy.

Chennai City FC finished eighth in its debut season in 2016-’17 but registered a memorable 2-1 win over East Bengal.