Shillong, Sep 12: The Indian Super League 2024-25 is set to begin on Friday between defending champions Mohun Bagan SG and Mumbai City FC.
This will be the ISL’s 11th season and, sadly, there continues to be only a very small number of Meghalaya footballers in the various teams as the state still punches well below its weight compared to, say, Mizoram and Manipur, which have flooded the league with their own players.
You can count how many Meghalayans are in India’s top tier of club football on two hands (and have fingers to spare). Here is the list, based on the names provided on the ISL website. If we’ve missed anyone, please let us know!
AIBAN DOHLING
This will be Aiban’s sixth season in the ISL and his second at Kerala Blasters, where he moved after four years at FC Goa. The defender played in just three matches last year, so we’re hoping to see more of him in 2024-25.
PADAM CHETTRI
Mohammedan Sporting are making their debut appearance in the ISL and so too one of their goalkeepers, Padam Chettri. He kept goal in 22 out of 24 matches in the I-League last season, which Mohammedan won convincingly to gain promotion to the ISL.
HALEN NONGTDU
Halen is tall, he’s young (still only 20) and this will be his year (we hope) to break into the ISL properly. The defender has been with Mumbai City FC for two years now but has only played in one ISL match and that was in 2022-23.
REDEEM TLANG
The Grand Old Man of the bunch, Redeem will be 30 before the 2024-25 season is up. He was included in the very first NorthEast United FC squad in the inaugural edition of the ISL back in 2014. After leaving Shillong Lajong FC and the I-League at the end of 2017-18, he has played for NEUFC some more, FC Goa, Odisha FC and rejoined NorthEast United last season where he featured in 17 ISL games. The forward also won the Durand Cup with the Highlanders just last month.
SAMUEL LYNGDOH KYNSHI
Samuel had a brilliant 2022-23 with Real Kashmir FC in the I-League, scoring six goals and providing five assists. He then represented India at the Asian Games before slotting into Punjab FC for ISL 2023-24, the first season in the top flight for both parties. Samuel played in just five ISL matches but has been retained in the squad for 2024-25.
RICKY JOHN SHABONG
The second Meghalayan midfielder in Punjab FC, Ricky has garnered plenty of headlines as a young member of India’s national youth teams. Now 21, he’s looking to take big steps into his professional career. He played 10 ISL matches for Punjab in 2023-24 and also featured extensively for the club’s U-21 team in the Next Gen Cup last month in the United Kingdom.
(ISL/I-League photos. Clockwise from top left: Aiban Dohling, Padam Chettri, Halen Nongtdu, Redeem Tlang, Samuel Lyngdoh Kynshi, Ricky John Shabong)
