Saurabh Ojha
THE 127th edition of the Durand Cup Football Tournament will be conducted in Goa from 28 October to 09 November 2014 under the aegis of Indian Army’s Headquarter, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Goa Area. The Durand Cup, which was first played in 1888, is the third oldest football tournament in the world. Till the last edition, it was played in Delhi. The historic tournament of high prestige is being held at Goa this year to facilitate the people of this state who have a known passion for football, to witness some of the top Indian I-League and military football teams in action.
Lieutenant General P R Shankar, General Officer Commanding, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Goa area visited in Goa early July to assess the various venues and preliminary arrangements. He chaired a meeting of the top officials of Goa Football Association, Goa Football Development Council, Sports Authority of Goa and some prominent club owners on the conduct of Durand Cup 2014, by 2 Signal Training Centre, Goa.
The historic tournament is to be conducted in two phases. The first phase would be a qualifier phase in which 12 to 16 teams would be grouped into pools. The top two teams from the qualifier phase would participate in the main tournament. To give local teams an opportunity to take part in this historic tournament some 1st division teams from Goa would be invited to participate in the qualifier phase of the tournament and shall have ample opportunity to qualify for the main event.
The organising committee has declared prize money of Rs. 50 lacs to attract the top I-league teams of the country. Multiple events like Army Symphony Band, Malkhambh, Kalairepayattu, Parachute drops, army weapon and equipment display etc are also planned to be interspersed with the Durand Cup this year bring in a sports and military extravaganza and carnival from 28 October to 09 November 2014. Entrance for all events will be free of cost for spectators. The military displays will be spread all over Goa.
Lieutenant General P R Shankar sought and was assured of all possible support from the Goa football fraternity to make the Durand Cup 2014 a grand success. He invited industry to take part in the tournament and intimated them that sponsorships for various events in this extravaganza was open to them also.