The 132nd Durand Football Tournament is poised to set the pulse of the Nation racing from 03 Aug to 03 Sep 23. Organised under the aegis of Durand Football Tournament Society, headed by the three Service Chiefs, this year’s edition witnessed a grand unveiling of the three iconic trophies at the State Convention Centre Shillong by Shri Conrad Sangma, Hon’ble Chief minister of Meghalaya on 21 Jul 2023.
Speaking on the occasion, Lieutenant General Sanjay Malik, General Officer Commanding 101 Area, complimented the sporting culture of North Eastern Region and highlighted that this year’s tournament is trailblazing for Meghalaya. He brought out that for the first time ever, Shillong Lajong Football Club will be participating in Durand Cup and it is in the fitness of things that the trophies are also being unveiled at Shillong for the first time ever.
The three trophies viz the Durand Cup Trophy and the Shimla Trophy (both rolling trophies) and the President’s Cup (for keeping permanently) were taken on a grand tour of the city. With overwhelming public presence and applause along the way, it was a scintillating evening for the residents of Shillong. The engaging public display culminated with a grand celebration at Khyndailad with musical performances by a local band and Jazz band of the Army. The presence of players of Shillong Lajong Football Club was memorable for the crowd and the overwhelming public support greatly enthused the players.
Shillong Lajong will be playing their first match on the evening of August 04, 2023 against the Northeast United FC at Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium, Guwahati.
The 15 cities tour of the three Durand trophies was jointly flagged-off on Jun 30, 2023 from Delhi, by General Manoj Pande, PVSM, AVSM, VSM, ADC, Chief of Army Staff, Air Chief Marshal VK Chaudhary, Chief of Air Staff and Shri Kalyan Chaubey, President, All India Football Federation (AIFF). It is covering Dehradun, Udhampur, Jaipur, Pune, Mumbai, Karwar, Ezhimala, Kochi, Bengaluru, Kokrajhar, Guwahati, Shillong, Kathmandu and Dhaka.
This edition of the Durand Cup will have 24 teams, up from 20 last time. All 12 Indian Super League (ISL) sides are taking part in the matches and the finals will be played at Kolkata. Service teams from neighbouring foreign countries of Bangladesh and Nepal, will also be participating in the legendary tournament.