Mumbai City FC to play Al Hilal at DY Patil Stadium instead of home ground with 49,000 more seats

Football will be played at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai after over a year, when Mumbai City FC play Al Hilal in the AFC Champions League. The ISL winners usually play their matches at the Mumbai Football Arena that has a meagre capacity of 6,600. 

In comparison, the DY Patil Stadium will be able to host 55,000 people as the mighty Al Hilal visit India. The reigning Saudi Cup winners made huge headlines for their business in the transfer market this summer, after signing world-class players like Neymar, Kalidou Koulibaly, Aleksandar Mitrovic, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, Yassine Bono and Ruben Neves to bolster their squad.

Mumbai City FC to host Al Hilal at DY Patil Stadium 

The last time the stadium in Navi Mumbai was used for a football match was the FIFA U17 WWC on Oct 30th, 2022. The match between Mumbai City FC and Al Hilal will be played on November 6, and will kick off at 7:30pm IST. 

But before that, the Sky Blues will travel to Saudi Arabia to play Al Hilal on their own ground. Tickets for the match will be available from September 29th, and pre-registration will be available for fans looking to attend. 

The Islanders have dominated the domestic league over the last few years, after winning the double in 2021. It remains to be seen how they fare against one of the top clubs in Asia, but it will surely be a huge moment for Indian football.