DURAND CUP TROPHY TOUR Guwahati
Durand Cup Trophies Unveiled for Tour of host city Guwahati
The city will be hosting the Durand Cup for the second year running
Smt. Nandita Gorlosa, Hon. Minister, Sports and Youth Welfare, Government of Assam today unveiled the three magnificent Durand Cup Trophies in a grand ceremony at Guwahati. The three trophies are on a three-day tour of the city. Lt. Gen. R.P. Kalita General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Command was also present among other dignitaries.
The 132nd Edition of the legendary Durand Cup football tournament, organized by the Indian Army on behalf of the three Services is the only Cup tournament in the country that pits Service Teams along with the top teams from different divisions of Indian football. It is set for kick-off on August 04 Aug 2023, with Guwahati hosting nine matches, with a North-East derby between local side North-East United FC (NEUFC) and debutants Shillong Lajong. All games, including one quarter-final knockout game, will be played at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium. The finals are scheduled for 03 September 2023, in Kolkata. Guwahati will be hosting Durand Cup for the second year running.
The three Trophies unique to the tournament are the Durand Cup (a rolling trophy and the original prize), the Shimla Trophy (also a rolling trophy and first given by the resident of Shimla in 1904), and the President’s Cup (for permanent keep and first presented by Dr. Rajendra Prasad, India’s first President, in 1956).
The three Durand trophies were jointly flagged off for a 15-city Trophy Tour on Friday, Jun 30, 2023, in Delhi, by General Manoj Pande, PVSM, AVSM, VSM, ADC, Chief of Army Staff, Indian Army, Air Chief Marshal VK Chaudhary, Chief of Air Staff and Shri. Kalyan Chaubey, President, All India Football Federation (AIFF). Udhampur was the third stop in the tour after the Trophies travelled to Dehradun on Sunday.
Before embarking upon Guwahati, the trophies have already visited the cities of Dehradun, Udhampur, Jaipur, Pune, Mumbai, Karwar, Ezhimala, and Kochi. The other cities that the tour will cover include Kokrajhar and Shillong. They will also visit Kathmandu and Dhaka, before flagging-into Kolkata, the venue of the finals.
This time the Durand Cup will have 24 teams, up from 20 last time, including all 12 Indian Super League (ISL) sides. Service teams from neighbouring foreign countries of Bangladesh and Nepal will also be participating in the legacy tournament, making foreign participation in the legendary tournament happen after a long gap of 27 years.
