The sporting tradition is largely held sacred around the world, and is frowned upon by anyone who dares to break it. In India, such things are ruthlessly crushed by arrogant officials and organisers. The Durand Cup, the world’s third oldest football tournament, has been embroiled in controversy over a move to shift Asia’s oldest championship away from its natural home, Delhi. The 130th edition, supported by the West Bengal government and the state’s Football Association (IFA), is being played in Calcutta before the galleries became barren due to the pandemic. The move has caused genuine outrage in Delhi, with old-timers saying the army, Durand’s custodian, has pierced football lovers in the capital with a “shot in the heart”.
For more than half a century, Durand, Rovers and the IFA Shield were the blue ribbon tournaments of Indian football. Each tournament was synonymous with the city that hosted it. If the IFA Shield was the pride of Calcutta, Rovers meant Mumbai and Durand was Delhi’s jewel in the crown. As a nap in the air predicted the arrival of winter on the plains of North India, the Ambedkar Stadium will be utterly busy with activity as India’s top club head to the capital to rekindle an enduring romance nurtured by Sundar Sports. Will arrive.
For more than 50 years after the Partition, Durand was a roaring affair. Named after Sir Mortimer Durand, former Foreign Secretary of British India, it was started in Shimla in 1888. In 1940, the tournament shifted to Delhi. The city’s love for competition was further strengthened after 1947, when Pakistan was barred from giving away Durand. The three army chiefs and the Defense Secretary of India were instrumental in keeping Durand in India; Thus the army became his natural caretaker. A body, the Durand Football Tournament Society (DFTS), was formed to administer the cup.
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From 2000, the Durand Cup ran without any disturbances until 2016. East Bengal and Mohun Bagan, who have won 32 championship titles between them, had a consistent presence. In 2014, for the first time since 1940, Durand was moved from Delhi to Goa. Salgaonkar won it that year. From mid-zero onwards, the Durand Cup began to lose its importance in the Indian football calendar. While other legacy tournaments such as Rovers and DCM died out, Durand managed to stay afloat, but only. As corporates lured a weak national federation with lucrative contracts, the old, pan-India tournaments suffered. Durand was not held in 2015, 2017 and 2018.
Durand Cup resumed in Calcutta in 2019. I-League champions Gokulam defeated Mohun Bagan to win the trophy. Due to the pandemic, Durand was canceled in 2020; The army went back to Bengal not only for this year, but by 2025, saying that Calcutta had better infrastructure. An Army spokesperson says: “Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee extended full support during a meeting with senior Army officials and all government bodies like health, transport and sports extended their support to the tournament.”
Durand then and now
Left, an action-packed Durand Cup match at Ambedkar Stadium in Delhi in 1996; Mamta Banerjee met the players before the match in Kolkata
But why Calcutta, asks Football Delhi President Shaji Prabhakaran. Is Delhi’s covid management bad? Is there a lack of infrastructure? “I am not sure if DFTS has approached the Delhi government for assistance. Football Delhi is a member of Durand Cup Society and no one asked for our help. It certainly hurts to break the 75-year-old bond that developed between the Delhi fans and the Durand Cup. We will be happy to join hands,” says Prabhakaran.
Veteran football journalist Jaideep Basu says DFTS’s decision to move the Durand Cup to Calcutta is a clear indication of its failure to organize and run a successful tournament. “Army may be great in fighting wars, but I am sorry to say that when it comes to organizing football, the present batch of people have been disappointing. They have no idea about Indian football and they have played in Delhi. Ignoring the passion of football lovers. To suddenly say that Delhi does not have football infrastructure, after successfully organizing the Durand Cup for 50 years, in a packed Ambedkar Stadium, is simply ridiculous,” he says. .
Ghaus Mohammad, who played the Durand Cup for seven years, served as an assistant referee for two years and later commented on Doordarshan’s 25 Durand Final Live, saying the move to Calcutta has affected many teams playing in the Delhi League. Morale will be broken. “Teams like Moonlight, Buddh Blue Stars and Shimla Young awaited Durand and competed with big teams like Mohammedan Sporting. This is a big loss for Delhi football,” says Gauss.
The Durand Cup has attracted 16 teams this year. Five of these are Indian Super League teams and they include former ISL champions Bengaluru FC and finalists FC Goa and Kerala Blasters. Delhi has two teams from two tiers of the I-League – Sudeva FC and Delhi FC. Kerala’s Gokulam have returned to defend their title and the first Indian team to win the Cup in 1940 is the only local Calcutta team at the Mohammedan Sporting Ground. With matches being played in empty stadiums, fans can only watch them online.
Gokulam VC Praveen says: “There should be more tournaments. Currently, major tournaments are confined to one or two states. This has to change. Each state should host one tournament each. We would love to play in the capital. There should be more football in Delhi.
Both Gauss and Basu point out major flaws in the current functioning of DFTS. Earlier, the society was a permanent body, with officials taking care of Indian football and inviting teams based on merit. “Now, officers from different regiments are posted for three years and with no knowledge of football, they find it difficult to organize Durand. The dynamics of football have changed a lot now and so do the officials struggle,” says Basu. Gauss says that society is no longer a unifying force. The Air Force successfully runs the Subroto Cup, but it has nothing to do with Durand. “It seems like everyone is completing an assignment. There is no real heart like before and therefore it is easier to cut the umbilical cord,” he says.
No major Indian tournament is complete without the star attractions of Mohun Bagan or East Bengal, but the organizers of Durand have not been able to secure the big two plays in this edition, even with the help of the state government. “It is really a shame. Mohun Bagan, now a corporate entity after joining ISL, has the arrogance of sending its players on leave after AFC Cup matches and leaving Calcutta Football League and Durand Club. has turned its back on millions of supporters,” says Basu. East Bengal is currently building a team after resolving major differences with its sponsors, due to Mamata Banerjee’s intervention.
Former India captain Bhaichung Bhutia feels Durand’s visit to Calcutta is a strategic move. “There is nothing wrong with that if the interest of the tournament is served. I think they are counting on the Bengal government and the IFA every time they join the big three clubs. If the big three don’t play next year, Durand should go back to Delhi where he originally belongs…., says Bhutia.
(It appeared in the print edition as “Foul in the Penalty Box”)
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