Munin Nobis addresses the media in Guwahati on Tuesday. Picture by Eastern Projections

Guwahati, Aug. 31: Hosts Guwahati Sports Association’s first division league champions NF Railway SC will meet Assam Police and Food Corporation of India (FCI) SC will meet Sunrise Athletic Club in two simultaneous cluster I matches at Nehru Stadium here on the inaugural day of the 59th Bharat Ratna Lokapriya Bordoloi Trophy football tournament on Thursday.

Altogether 12 teams, including two foreign teams, will vie for the honours in the historic invitation tournament. The foreign outfits are three-time Bangladesh league champions Abahoni Krida Chakra of Dhaka and Kalinga Cup champions 3 Star Club of Kathmandu.

The other teams in the fray are defending champions Assam State Electricity Board SC (Guwahati), Oil India FC (Duliajan), Shillong Lajong FC (Shillong), last year’s runners-up Nagaland Police, Morning Star Club (Diphu) and Assam Regimental Centre (Shillong).

Former Gauhati Town Club player Birendra Kumar Singh will be the chief guest during the inaugural ceremony on Thursday.

“The preliminary rounds involving eight teams will be held on a knockout basis till the pre-quarterfinals and the quarter-finals, involving six teams, will be in league format. The semi-finals will once again be knockouts,” said GSA general secretary Munin Nobis. The Guwahati clubs are clustered in the same group while Nagaland Police, Morning Star, Oil India FC and ARC are pitted in Cluster II for the preliminaries. The foreign teams, along with ASEB and Shillong Lajong will participate from the pre-quarterfinals onwards.