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131^st edition of the IndianOil Durand Cup all set for kick-off

A symbol of India’s football history and culture, the Durand Cup is Asia’s oldest and the world’s third oldest football tournament. Organized by the Indian Armed Forces, the Durand Cup has been the breeding ground for India’s best footballing talent, over the years.

The inaugural edition happened in Shimla in 1888, when it started off as an Army Cup, open only to the British Indian Army troops in India, but soon opened up to civilian teams. Named after its founder, Sir Mortimer Durand, Foreign Secretary of British India from 1884 to 1894, the iconic tournament reached its 130th edition in 2021. Mohun Bagan and East Bengal have been the most successful teams, winning the tournament 16 times each.

Kolkata, Friday, August 12, 2022: The 131^st edition of the IndianOil Durand Cup is all set for a blockbuster opening with defending champions FC Goa going head-to-head with Mohammedan Sporting in the first game on August 16, 2022, in what will be a repeat of last edition’s final. The two will clash in a Group B game at Kolkata’s Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan (VYBK), also the venue of the grand finale on September 18, 2022. This and other details of the tournament were shared at a curtain-raiser event held at the Eastern Command Headquarters at Fort William, in the presence of Shri. Aroop Biswas, Hon. Minister for Power, Youth Services and Sports and Minister for Housing, Government of West Bengal. Also present was Lt General K.K Repswal, SM, VSM, Chief of Staff, Eastern Command & Chairman Durand Organising Committee.

All 47 games across four venues and three states of the country will be broadcast live. All matches will also be live-streamed on the internet. With all 11 Indian top division Indian Super League (ISL) teams participating along with five I-League teams and four Services teams, the total number of teams have also gone up to 20 from 16 last year. The prize money for the winners, runner-up and the semi-finalists as well as those for the Golden Ball, Golden Boot and Golden Glove winners for the Player of the Tournament

In what has turned out to be a tournament of firsts, Assam and Manipur will join West Bengal as tournament hosts, which will be for the first time that three states will be hosting the iconic tournament. Guwahati’s Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium in Assam and the Khuman Lampak Stadium in Imphal, Manipur, will be hosting 10 group stage games each.

A teaser of the theme song of the tournament, soulfully rendered by star singers Shaan, Papon and Rewben Mashangva, was also played out at the event.

Addressing the media on the occasion Shri. Aroop Biswas said, “We are very happy that 27 out of 47 games of the Durand Cup will be played in Kolkata. Also, that till 2025 at least, the tournament, which is now the number one football tournament in India, will be held in West Bengal. So, I will just say that we need your cooperation to make this tournament and even grander success. If there are any suggestions you have, please provide us with the same and we will surely look into it. I thank the Army once again for organising this tournament so wonderfully in our state. Finally, I would like to say that I am aware of some statistics that the Durand Cup has been won 16 times by Mohun Bagan and East Bengal which is the highest ever by any team. I hope that we will be able to see the 17^th victory.”

Speaking to the audience, Lt. General K.K. Repswal said, “I on behalf of Lt. Gen. R.P. Kalita, UYSM, AVSM, SM, VSM, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Command and on behalf of the entire Eastern Command, welcome you all to this curtain-raiser for the 131^st IndianOil Durand Cup.  The Durand Cup is now the second qualifying Cup recognised by the Asian Football Confederation. This will ensure mandatory participation of all the 11 ISL teams which will in turn raise the standard of the football and the Durand Cup even. I also want to thank the Government of West Bengal for the support that has been given towards the conduct of the Durand Cup tournament in Kolkata. I would to mention here that tremendous efforts have been put in by the State Government of Assam and Manipur to improve the football infrastructure so that matches of one pool each could be conducted at Guwahati and Imphal. I believe the Durand Cup has the scope to expand to a 24 or 28 team tournament in future.”

Ticket Information

India’s leading entertainment destination BookMyShow has been roped in as exclusive ticketing partners for the 131^stIndianOil Durand Cup.

Fans can book their tickets to all the league stage games of the tournament exclusively on www.bookmyshow.com.

In addition, Box Office services will also be made operational for fans in respective host cities.

The details are as follows:

Box office operations for first match to commence tomorrow

Md. Sporting Club

11^th Aug – 16th Aug, 10am-5pm

On 15th August, 1pm – 5pm only

VYBK GATE- 4A BOX OFFICE

11^th August – 14th August , 10 am – 5pm

Apart from this, match tickets for the three home teams in Kolkata will be sold and redeemed from respective clubs and stadiums concerned with the respective matches from Matchday -2

Guwahati

12^th August onwards 

SAI Box office, Paltan Bazar

10 am – 5pm

Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium

Gate – 1 Box office

10am – 5pm

Imphal

13th August  onwards

Khuman Lampak Stadium

Gate – 1 & Gate – 2 Box Offices

Tentative timing – 8:30 am – 4:00pm (To be confirmed)

Above Box Offices will be operational throughout the Group Stage matches of respective cities.

Ticket prices

Guwahati – Rs 50, 100, 250

Imphal- Rs 50, 100, 300

Kolkata – Rs 50, 100, (200 only for VYBK)

BOX OFFICE will be dealing with Online redemption and Offline cash Sale

Broadcast & Live-stream details

The 131^st edition of the IndiaOil Durand Cup will be broadcast on India’s newest premier sports network Sports 18 as well as livestreamed on the VOOT platform. According to the agreements, all 47 matches of the iconic football tournament, which will be held in Kolkata, Guwahati and Imphal from 16^th August to 18^th September, will be telecast across Sports18 1 SD & HD, and Sports 18 Khel as well as livestreamed on the Over the Top (OTT) application VOOT.

“The Durand Football Tournament Society (DFTS) is pleased to welcome Sports18 as the broadcasting partner and VOOT as the livestreaming partner for the 131st edition of the Durand Cup. This tournament is a testimony of India’s rich football tradition, and we hope sports fans will enjoy the live coverage on Sports18 channels as well as the VOOT platform as per their viewing preference,” said Lt General K.K Repswal Chief of staff Eastern Command & Chairman Durand Organising Committee.

For commentary, former India international Henry Menezes and India women’s team goalkeeper Aditi Chauhan have been roped in as the expert panel along with former association footballers Karan Sawhney and Darren Caldeira.

Sports18 is available on the following service providers:

Voot is available to download for free on all mobile app stores and on Connected TVs.

Durand Cup

About Post Author

Editor Desk

Antara Tripathy M.Sc., B.Ed. by qualification and bring 15 years of media reporting experience.. Coverred many illustarted events like, G20, ICC,MCCI,British High Commission, Bangladesh etc. She took over from the founder Editor of IBG NEWS Suman Munshi (15/Mar/2012- 09/Aug/2018 and October 2020 to 13 June 2023).

[email protected]

https://in.linkedin.com/in/sumanmunshi

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