Shillong, Aug 3: It was confirmed by the Durand Cup organising committee this evening that Rangdajied United FC will take Hyderabad FC’s place as a last-minute replacement in Group F here in Shillong.
TSR first got whiff of the news last night and we heard from more sources by this morning when we published this initial story.
Beleaguered Hyderabad FC, who have had numerous, longstanding difficulties regarding players and finances, have had to drop out as they cannot put together an 18-man squad. The Indian Super League franchise has been struggling to pay its players and this has resulted in it receiving transfer bans. Hyderabad finished dead last in ISL 2023-24.
Hyderabad were in Group F along with Shillong Lajong FC, Tribhuvan Army FC of Nepal and FC Goa.
Dempo SC of Goa had also reportedly been offered to take up Hyderabad’s place but it looks like Rangdajied were the only ones prepared to jump in and the advantage for them is they don’t have to travel to get here. The only question, though, is are their players ready for a major tournament like this one? We’ll have to wait and find out.
The schedule remains the same, with a clean replacement of Hyderabad for Rangdajied, so the second Shillong team will be in action on 5th August versus FC Goa at the JN Stadium from 7PM.
The official release this evening made no mention of Hyderabad’s difficulties, merely saying that they had to drop out “due to unforeseen circumstances”. It also said that it was the Meghalaya government’s idea to offer the vacant slot to Rangdajied, who are reigning Meghalaya State League 2023 champions.
(File photo)