Kolkata chosen as Durand Cup venue for next five years

Kolkata chosen as Durand Cup venue for next five years

Prestigious Durand Cup Trophies

About the Durand Cup:

Sir Mortimer Durand founded the Durand football event, often referred to as the Durand Cup, in Shimla in 1888. Sir Durand was in Shimla, India, recovering from sickness when he opted to give a reward to stimulate sporting competitiveness in India after becoming aware of the benefits of sport as a way of maintaining wellbeing.

The Durand Tournament began as a martial event, accessible to all forces of the Indian Army, including the British Indian Army, the regular Army, and other military units such as regional frontier-security battalions and reserve volunteer battalions.

Nonetheless, in actuality, native troops have always favored hockey over football, as seen by India’s and Pakistan’s supremacy of the game at international competitions such as the Olympics. The Nepali soldiers of the Gurkha regiments were an exception to the norm. Originally, this allowed the British Indian Army to use the field until people’s love for football slowly grew and it became the more global sport it is now.

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Recent Challenges faced by the Competition:

Unfortunately, since it has been managed and hosted by the Army in a very modest manner throughout the decades post-independence, it is not as popular or glamorous as the ISL or even the I-League, especially amongst the younger generations.

As a result, the tournament’s prominence has faded over time, but the Indian Armed Forces have maintained the Durand Tournament legacy intact for years. In an effort to expand the competition and reignite enthusiasm for the game, Osian’s became the first private entity to co-host the Durand Cup under a 5-year arrangement with DFTS through 2010.

The competition had been dropped from the calendar on several occasions for no apparent reason, including in 2015, 2017, and 2018 and it would be reasonable to say that this was due to adequate support and funding.

Gokulam Kerala FC won the last edition of the Competition

The Armed Forces and the State of West Bengal collaborated to host the event in 2019, which was held outside of Delhi for the first time since its transfer to the capital in 1940. Gokulam Kerala FC became the second football team from the south to claim the Cup that year. Due to the COVID-19 epidemic, the competition was abandoned in 2020. Presently, the Armed Forces and the Sports Ministry of West Bengal agreed in 2021 to hold the event in West Bengal until 2025.

Kolkata to host Durand Cup for next 5 years

The 2021 edition of the cup marks its 130th anniversary and it’s also going to be hosted in Kolkata again. This seems to be apt considering the raw passion for the game in the city.

Furthermore, with West Bengal CM – Mamata Banerjee and Shri Aroop Biswas, the Minister for Sports & Youth Affairs, Lt. General Kamal Repswal, the Chief of Staff, HQ Eastern Command, informed the media that the competition is going to be conducted in Kolkata for the next 5 years as well.

Sports Minister Aroop Biswas at the Durand Cup Presentation that took place recently.

The Honourable Sports Minister spoke next and confirmed the news for the public and stated that:

“The WB Govt. has allowed 50% capacity inside stadiums, but the Durand Cup tournament committee, in light of the pandemic, has decided to allow minimal attendance and then gradually towards the end of the tournament. If everything goes well, we will allow 50% attendance in compliance with government norms during the latter stages”.

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