Mumbai at home in DY Patil Stadium

Mumbai City FC will play their home matches of the upcoming Hero India Super League at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai. The club officials made the announcement after co- owner Ranbir Kapoor unveiled the franchise name, team jersey and logo along with coowner Bimal Parekh and Nita Ambani, the chairperson of IMG- Reliance which has floated the ISL in partnership with Star India.

DY Patil, originally a cricket stadium, in the outskirts of the city, has been the home venue for IPL teams like Deccan Chargers and Mumbai Indians in the past. It has been preferred over the Cooperage football ground, which supports artificial turf and is in the heart of the city.

“We prefer natural turf. I have been at the D. Y. Patil Stadium over the last few weeks. I can’t say how impressed I am about the playing surface. They have been wonderful and accommodating. We have made some changes to the turf and cut the grass a bit. The surface is perfect for our style of football,” said club director Nishant Mehra.

D. Y. Patil can also accommodate around 55,000 spectators against the 5,000 capacity at the Cooperage.

Mumbai have also shortlisted their coach and will pick a marquee player soon. “The coach has already been identified and we will make a formal announcement on September 6. The marquee player will be picked the following week,” Mehra added.

“I have been a football fan from my school days. I have invested not only money but my heart and soul into it,” said Ranbir Kapoor who was also accompanied by his father Rishi Kapoor.

Top players like Subrata Paul and Syed Rahim Nabi have already started training on the artificial turf at Father Agnel’s ground in Navi Mumbai.