The stage has been set for the grand opening of the 131st edition of the Durand Cup 2022 at Main Stadium Khuman Lampak with two giants of Manipur football Neroca FC taking on TRAU FC under floodlights at 6 pm on Thursday.
The 131st Indian Oil Durand Cup has been held in three cities of India, including Imphal, Kolkata and Guwahati. The tournament has already commenced from August 16 at Kolkata. This is the first time that the oldest tournament in the Asia has been held in Imphal.
Altogether, 20 teams of ISL and I-League, categorised in four groups are participating in the tournament. The team in Group A are current champion FC Goa, Mohammedan SC, Bengaluru FC, Jamshedpur FC, Indian Air Force while in Group B are East Bengal, ATK Mohun Bagan, Mumbai City FC, Rajasthan United, Indian Navy.
In Group C are Neroca FC, TRAU FC, Hyderabad FC, Chennaiyan FC and Army Red while in Group D are North East United, Kerala Blasters, Odisha FC, Sudeva Delhi FC and Army Green.
The opening of the Imphal edition is scheduled to have Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh as chief guest along with Chief Minister N Biren Singh, YAS Minister Govindas Konthoujam and GOC-in C, Eastern Command.
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The cultural programme for the event is scheduled to start from 5.30 pm on the theme, ‘Fusion of Indian Cultures: An Epitome of Synergy’ with performances from cultural artistes Guru Rewben Mashangva and singer Papon as well as band display etc.
Teams have already started trickling in for the grand opening ceremony on Thursday and were given a warm welcome at Classic Grande, Chingmeirong on Wednesday.
Mentioned may be that the Durand Cup was founded in 1888 where the first tournament was held in Shimla. The tournament was named after its founder Henry Mortimer Durand, who was the foreign secretary of the then British India, and the tournament primarily started for armed forces of British India and native India.
