Durand Cup | Tournament to restart on August 2 after three years
One of the oldest football tournaments, Durand Cup, has been scheduled to start next month on August 2nd, three years after it had been scrapped. It would be the 129th edition of the tournament and Kolkata giants Mohun Bagan and Mohammedan Sporting club would be playing the curtain raiser.
Asia’s oldest and the third oldest in the world, Durand Cup would be hosted by Kolkata for the first time in its history. With I-League clubs and Indian Super League clubs taking part in the tournament, it would be a huge affair and Kolkata hosting it was the apt decision, described Lt. Gen. RP Kalita.
“We wanted to rechristen the tournament and make it a pan India affair this time and bring it to Kolkata because it is the Mecca of Indian football. So to make it more attractive we took a gap of three seasons,” he said, reported Goal.
The last time this tournament was held was back in 2016, when the Army Green had defeated NEROCA FC in the final. Star Network would be broadcasting the final and semifinals, while the officials are trying to get all the matches telecasted on DD. Amidst all this, Minerva Punjab owner Ranjit Bajaj had expressed his displeasure on social media a few weeks back after he didn’t get invited for the prestigious Durand.
“I spoke to Mr Bajaj. They were 10th in the I-League table last season. We were initially planning to get the top 6 teams from the I-League. As Real Kashmir was taking part in the tournament, to give a pan India approach we had contacted Kerala Blasters but when they said they were unavailable we got in touch with Gokulam Kerala as we wanted a club from Kerala to come. I had told this to Ranjit Bajaj and he was satisfied after that,” clarified Lt. Gen. Kalita.
The cash prize for the winner would be INR 40 Lakh, while the runners-up will receive INR 20 Lakh. The two semifinalists would be getting INR 5 Lakh each. Started in 1888 as an Army Cup, Mohammedan Sporting was the first Indian club to win the tournament in 1940 although East Bengal and Mohun Bagan have been the most successful teams in the history of the competition, winning 16 times each.
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