IndianOil Durand Cup’s 134th edition to be held from July 22 to August 23

Asia’s oldest football tournament, the IndianOil Durand Cup, will be back with its 134th edition. The organising committee announced the dates for this year’s tournament to be between July 22-August 23. For the first time, it will be hosted in as many as five states with Manipur’s capital Imphal making a comeback after a two-year gap.

Kokrajhar in Assam will extend its status as Durand Cup host for the third consecutive year while Jamshedpur in Jharkhand and Shillong in Meghalaya were added as hosts last year. The century-old tournament shifted its home base to Kolkata – the Mecca of Indian Football, and the capital of West Bengal, from Delhi back in 2019, and, will also continue to hold that status for a sixth consecutive edition.

Since its transition to the east, the Durand Cup has reinstated itself as the country’s premiere competition, growing from 16 to 24 teams, including participation from all the Indian Super League (ISL) teams.

Organised by the Eastern Command of the Indian Army on behalf of the three Services, the tournament is unique in the sense that it pits Services teams against India’s best football clubs. Over the last couple of editions, it has also seen foreign participation with army teams from neighbouring nations.

The Indian Army’s stated vision of expanding the reach of the historic tournament throughout the east and north-east is also now fully reflected with the choice of host cities this year.

All state governments and local autonomous bodies have wholeheartedly pledged their support like always for the popular tournament which has captured the imagination of fans of the sport.

A total of six venues, two in Kolkata (Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan and Kishore Bharti Krirangan) and one each in Imphal (Khuman Lampak stadium), Ranchi (Morhabadi Stadium) or Jamshedpur (JRD Tata Sports Complex), Shillong (Jawahar Lal Nehru Stadium) and Kokrajhar (SAI Stadium) have been earmarked for the tournament.

North East United FC are the defending champions having overcome maximum title-holders Mohun Bagan, in a thrilling final last year to get their historic maiden title.

Sports