India is likely to play Nigeria and Jamaica in the Unity Cup in Britain

The Indian national football team is likely to play Nigeria and Jamaica in the Unity Cup in London later this year.

The All India Football Federation (AIFF) is yet to get a final confirmation on the matches, but the matches are expected to be played between June 1 and 9 in the international competition.

The Unity Cup is played between countries with a large diaspora in the United Kingdom, with Nigeria, Ghana, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago playing at the Brentford Community Stadium in the previous edition of the tournament.

The Super Eagles are the defending champions and have won all three editions of the tournament.

India found new life in the Asian Cup qualifier against Hong Kong, China, as it won its first-ever match in Kochi and rose five places in the FIFA rankings. After the match, India coach Khallid Jamil had emphasized that more internationals had to be arranged.

In the last two periods, the Blue Tigers played a total of only two official matches, while most countries around the world played twice in each period.

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“We need to play more matches,” he said, and accordingly the Federation has been looking for competitive teams that could earn India higher ranking points, helping the country rise in the rankings hqpl.

Nigeria and Jamaica were both knocked out of the 2026 World Cup qualifying race by the Democratic Republic of Congo, which is participating in the quadrennial tournament for the first time since 1974.

Although it would be India’s first appearance in the Unity Cup, there is a shared history between defending champions Nigeria and India at the tournament.

The 2004 edition of the Unity Cup saw its highest scorer in Bartholomew Ogbeche, the Nigerian striker who spent five seasons in the Indian Super League before retiring in 2023 with one ISL Golden Boot and was the then record scorer in the competition’s history.

Published on April 2, 2026