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ATK Mohun Bagan's AFC Cup qualifier to take place in half-capacity Salt Lake Stadium

Fans of the Kolkata giants are known for the atmosphere within Salt Lake stadium Samir Jana/Hindustan Times via Getty Images

Spectators will be allowed to fill up half of the Salt Lake Stadium during ATK Mohun Bagan's AFC Cup preliminary round two clash against Sri Lanka's Blue Star SC in Kolkata on Tuesday.

Tickets are being sold online in the denominations of Rs 300 and Rs 500, said an official of the local organising committee.

"There will be about 33,000 seats which will be available to fill, out of which 10,000 are for the Mohun Bagan members and the remaining are up for sale," the official told PTI.

Welcoming the decision, ATKMB head coach Juan Ferrando said: "I hope the Mariners will come to watch our game, filling the gallery. The support of the Green Maroon members on the field will inspire us.

"I promise they will not have to return home disappointed. You can enjoy the joy of football by watching my team's game," the Spaniard added.

ATKMB, who made an exit in the inter-zonal play-off semi-finals in 2019-20, qualified for this year's AFC Cup preliminary stage after finishing runners-up in ISL 2020-21.

If they get past Blue Star, ATKMB will face the winners of the match between Abahani Limited Dhaka and Valencia of Maldives in a play-off match here on April 19 for a place in the group stage of the continent's second tier club competition.

ATK Mohun Bagan finished the recently concluded 2021-22 Indian Super League season in third place, before a 2-3 defeat on aggregate in the semifinals against eventual champions Hyderabad FC.

The only other Indian club in action in continental competitions are Mumbai City FC, who finished the 2021-22 ISL season in fifth place, outside the playoff spots. They have directly qualified for the group stages of the AFC Champions League, on account of their league stage victory in the 2020-21 ISL season, while also winning the cup competition.