Shillong: The three glittering trophies of the 133rd Indian Oil Durand Cup arrived in Shillong, the capital of Meghalaya today and were proudly unveiled at a grand ceremony at the U Soso Tham Auditorium in Secretariat Hills in the august presence of the state's Chief Minister, Conrad K. Sangma. The city is set to host the prestigious football tournament for the first time. Sangma lauded the efforts of the Durand Cup Organising Committee in bringing this historic moment to the state, which will put Shillong on the football map of the country.
The three trophies will tour the city and adjoining districts starting from the venue in the presence of Sangma. Air Marshal SP Dharkar, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Air Command; Lieutenant General Sanjay Malik, General Officer Commanding, 101 Area; Major General Rajesh A Moghe, VSM, Chairman of Durand Cup Organising Committee and several senior military and civilian officials were present. The three trophies were flagged off for a nationwide tour from the national capital by President Draupadi Murmu on July 10.
Major General Rajesh A Moghe, VSM welcomed and thanked the Chief Minister, State Government officials, Army officials, event sponsors and organisers and media persons. He released the schedule of matches and wished the teams on behalf of Lt Gen Ram Chander Tiwari, GOC-in-C Eastern Command and Patron of the Durand Cup Organising Committee.
Speaking on the occasion, Conrad Sangma said, “Football is the most loved and followed sport in Meghalaya and it is a great honour for us to host the prestigious Durand Cup for the first time. I urge all the football loving people of the state to come and watch the matches and I am sure they will be entertained by some quality football games between some of the top sides. I will be supporting our favourites Shillong Lajong though and we look forward to competitive and exciting football matches in the coming days and wish all the visiting teams and guests a wonderful time in Shillong. I would like to place on record the excellent coordination between the Indian Army and the State Government machinery for administrative support and creation of infrastructure.”
Lt Gen Sanjay Malik also shared his views and said, “Indian Army is proud to host this prestigious tournament in Shillong, as we continue our commitment to further spread the reach of Durand Cup in the region. In that spirit, Shillong will host the prestigious tournament for the first time. We are sure that the football loving state of Meghalaya is all set to put up a grand spectacle and the youth will draw immense inspiration from watching their favourite players in live action. On behalf of Lt Gen Ram Chander Tiwari, GOC-in-C Eastern Command and Patron of Durand Cup Organising Committee, I extend a hearty thank you to the Chief Guest, State Government, teams and players and everyone involved in this year’s tournament.”
At the end of the ceremony, Major General Rajesh A Moghe, VSM interacted with Secretary, Sports & Youth Affairs, Meghalaya and answered queries from media persons. The Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium will host Group F which comprises local team Shillong Lajong FC, Indian Super League teams FC Goa, Hyderabad FC and Nepal's Tribhuvan Army Football Club. The first match will be played on August 2 between Shillong Lajong FC and Tribhuvan Army FC. The match will start at 4 PM IST.
A total of 24 teams, including three Services teams and two Services teams each from Nepal and Bangladesh, will be seen in action in 43 matches to be played across four host cities – Kokrajhar, Shillong, Jamshedpur (the last two names making their debut as host cities) and Kolkata, which will also host the Grand Final at the iconic Vivekananda Yuva Bharati Krirangan (VYBK) on August 31.
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