Shillong, May 25: After successfully playing co-host last year, Shillong has once again been included in the schedule of the Durand Cup 2025, it was announced today.
Asia’s oldest football tournament, which will be back with its 134th edition, will be hosted in five states as Manipur’s Imphal makes a comeback after a two-year gap.
Today the Durand Cup organising committee also announced the dates for this year’s tournament, which will be held between 22nd July and 23rd August.
Kokrajhar in Assam will extend its status as Durand Cup hosts for the third consecutive year while Jamshedpur in Jharkhand and Shillong in Meghalaya were added as hosts last year. The century-old tournament shifted its home base to Kolkata from Delhi in 2019 and will also continue to hold that status for a sixth consecutive edition.
Since its transition to the East, the Durand Cup has reinstated itself as the country’s premiere competition, growing from 16 teams to 24 teams, including participation from all the Indian Super League (ISL) clubs.
Organised by the Eastern Command of the Indian Army on behalf of the three Services, the tournament is unique in the sense that it pits Services teams against India’s best football clubs and over the past couple of editions, has also seen foreign participation with Army teams from neighbouring nations.
All state governments and local autonomous bodies have wholeheartedly pledged their support like always for the popular tournament which has captured the imagination of the football loving people of the region, an official press release stated.
A total of six venues, two in Kolkata (Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan and Kishore Bharti Krirangan) and one each in Imphal (Khuman Lampak stadium), Ranchi (Morhabadi Stadium) or Jamshedpur (JRD Tata Sports Complex), Shillong (Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium) and Kokrajhar (SAI Stadium) have been earmarked for the 134th Durand Cup edition.
NorthEast United FC are the defending champions having overcome maximum title-holders Mohun Bagan in a thrilling final last year to get their historic maiden title last year.
(File photo of NorthEast United FC)