New Delhi: President Draupadi Murmu flagged off the trophy tour of the century-old Durand Cup tournament and appealed to Indian football stakeholders to work together to alleviate the sport in the country.
Indian football has been in a state of turmoil for the past few weeks after the team failed to qualify for the third round of FIFA World Cup qualifiers, leading to the sacking of coach Igor Stimac.
The 133rd edition of Durand Cup, Asia's oldest and world's fifth oldest tournament, will commence on July 27 and will be played in four cities -- Kolkata, Kokrajhar in Assam, Shillong in Meghalaya and Jamshedpur in Jharkhand.
"Football is the most popular sport in the world. Professional footballers entertain people. Currently, Euro 2024 is going on and it is being followed the world over, it's everywhere in the news," President Murmu said in her address at a function at the Rashtrapati Bhavan here. "All the stakeholders in the country should work together for the upliftment of the game in India," she added.
Murmu reminded the gathering of the contribution of the Durand Cup -- named after its founder Sir Henry Mortimer Durand, the foreign secretary of India from 1884 to 1894 -- in the country's football tradition. "It is India's oldest football tournament and it's more than 135 years old," the President said of the tournament which was first held in Shimla in 1888.
"India's first president Rajendra Prasad presented the Durand Cup winners the President's Cup in 1950," she added. Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan, Chief of the Army Staff General Manoj Pandey, and Navy Chief Admiral Dinesh Kumar Tripathi were also present when President Murmu unveiled the trophies.
The Indian Army organises the Durand Cup on behalf of the three Services and under the aegis of the All India Football Federation (AIFF). After the inaugural edition in Shimla, the tournament moved to New Delhi in 1940, where it was held till 2016. In 2019, the tournament moved to the eastern part of the country, with Kolkata, the mecca of Indian football, becoming the home base.
Legendary India footballer and captain Sunil Chhetri, who finished his international career as the fourth highest goal scorer at international level, reminisced how he was "discovered" and came to national limelight after playing in the Durand Cup in 2002 for Delhi club City FC.
Twenty-four teams will take part in the tournament that will be played from July 27 to August 31. These 24 teams will be divided into six groups. The group toppers and the two best second-placed sides will qualify for the knockout stage. The final will be held at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan in Kolkata.
Indian Super League side Mohun Bagan Super Giant are the defending champions, having beaten Kolkata rivals East Bengal 1-0 in the final in the 2023 edition of the tournament.
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