"Shillong is definitely another option for us"- Chairman of the Durand Cup organizing committee on the expansion of the tournament to other venues × Follow Us Create Notifications New User posted their first comment this is comment text Link Approve Reject & ban Delete Log in Manage your profile Editing Story Queue Video Queue Editing Stats Writer Home SEO Redirection Admin Wiki Edits Taxonomy Home Edit Site Menu Mapping Dashboard Tag Pages Community Social Feed Queue Feed Center Notification Center Affiliate Home Manage Pages Bottom Tagline Dash Timeless Stories Logout Indian Football Durand Cup 2022 Exclusive

Shillong is definitely another option for us - Organizing committee chairman Lt Gen KK Repswal on expansion of Durand Cup to other venues

By Soumyadwip Dey Modified 19 Sep 2022 Follow Us Comment Share The 2022 Durand Cup was the first edition of the historic tournament to be held across multiple venues. (Image Courtesy: Durand Cup Instagram) The 131st edition of the Durand Cup was a success. The prestigious tournament was hosted by three of India's major footballing cities – Kolkata, Guwahati, and Imphal. After two years of matches being played in empty stadiums, life returned to Indian football matches as fans got to witness their favorite teams in action from the stands. The tournament also acted as a good preparation for all ISL and I-League teams. Referring to the idea of expanding the tournament to other cities, Lt. Gen. KK Repswal, chairman of the Durand Cup organizing committee, said in an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda: "As the chairman of the Durand organizing committee, I personally feel very happy with the way things have panned out this year. This was the first time in the history of the Durand Cup that we decided to make it a multi-city affair. "Hence, we moved to Guwahati in Assam and Imphal in Manipur. The support that we have received from both cities is phenomenal. I am very happy with the way it has panned out. This is probably the first time we have been able to connect with the youth of the north east and Manipur was a great success." View this post on Instagram Instagram Post Lt. Gen. Repswal added: "I would like to bring this into everyone’s notice that I already had a discussion with the Chief Minister of Meghalaya during the first half of this year. I visited Shillong. The stadium wasn’t ready then. So, I was told that the stadium would be ready by the end of this year. "So, Shillong is definitely another option for us. We are very keen on Mizoram as well. So next year, increasing the number of teams and adding these two new venues will definitely be on the cards." Lt. Gen. Repswal also shed some light on plans to accommodate more teams in future editions of the tournament. "From the window that I got from the AIFF, I could only accommodate a select number of teams. We intend on taking 24 teams if not 28 teams next year. We would also like to have more I-League teams taking part. "We were unable to accommodate some of the teams who had participated in the past due to unavailability of a longer window. The way it [Durand Cup] has been conducted this year, I think all these teams would love to participate in the Durand Cup next year."

For all ISL teams the Durand Cup is the season opener - Lt Gen Repswal

The 131st edition of the Durand Cup witnessed eight out of 11 participating ISL teams fielding their first teams in the tournament. On this, Lt. Gen. KK Repswal said: "For all ISL teams, the Durand Cup is the season opener. Earlier, most of these clubs who wanted to play practice matches had to travel abroad. But now with the Durand Cup, each of these clubs get at least 5-6 quality matches to prepare themselves." View this post on Instagram Instagram Post The four Services teams put up a good fight during the group stages with some of their players showcasing brilliance. The organizing committee chairman said: "The Army Red team is based in Kolkata and the Army Green team is based in Bangalore. All these teams do take part in local league matches. I can tell you that this year Rajasthan United FC has already contacted three players from the Indian Navy FT to play for them in the I-League. So, all these teams have done extremely well. The Army Red FT missed out on making it to the quarter-finals." He also stated that he would hold talks with the newly elected president of the AIFF about plans for next year. Exciting times lie ahead for the football-loving public of India's north east. Poll : 0 votes Quick Links More from Sportskeeda Edited by Akshay Saraswat × Feedback Thank You! Be the first one to comment Follow Us Share Show More Comments GIF Comment in moderation 0 0 Reply x Edit Delete Delete the comment? No thanks Delete GIF Cancel Update GIF Cancel Reply ❮ ❯ GIF Comment in moderation 0 0 Reply x Edit Delete Delete the comment? No thanks Delete GIF Cancel Update GIF Cancel Reply ❮ ❯ Be the first one to comment on this story More from Sportskeeda Fetching more content... 1 Manage your profile Editing Story Queue Video Queue Editing Stats Writer Home SEO Redirection Admin Wiki Edits Taxonomy Home Edit Site Menu Mapping Dashboard Tag Pages Community Social Feed Queue Feed Center Notification Center Affiliate Home Manage Pages Bottom Tagline Dash Timeless Stories Logout No Results Found Get the free App now Manage notifications Popular ‍ Sports (30+) CricketCricket HomeScheduleT20 World CupT20 warm upIND vs SAENG vs PAKAUS vs ENGLegends LeagueECS T10 CroatiaWBBL 2022ECC T10SMAT 2022Bukhatir LeagueNZ T20 Tri-SeriesWomen's Asia Cup 2022ECT10 FootballFootball HomeNewslettersSK Experts ScheduleEPLNations LeagueLa LigaLigue 1Champions LeagueFIFA WCMLS Bundesliga Serie A WWEWWE HomeNewslettersRumor RoundupRAWSmackDownResultsRosterChampionsWWE Crown Jewel 2022PPV ScheduleAEW EsportsEsports HomeMinecraftOverwatch 2RobloxGenshin ImpactFortniteGTAStreamersFree FirePUBGValorantBGMIPop CultureAnimeGaming TechWiki Guides TennisTennis HomeTennis calendarTennis Results TodayATP RankingsWTA RankingsRoger FedererRafael NadalNovak DjokovicSerena Williams MMAMMA HomeUFC NewsONE ChampionshipUFC Fight NightScheduleRankingsResultsUFC Fights TonightONE Championship ResultsONE Championship ScheduleONE Championship Rankings KabaddiKabaddi HomePKL 2022PKL SchedulePKL Points TableKabaddi Rules WikiWiki HomeMinecraft WikiNaruto WikiTikTok WikiYoutube WikiGTA WikiTerraria WikiOne Piece Wiki MoreSportsBasketballIndian FootballNFLMinecraftFormula 1NascarPop CultureCollege FootballHockeyGolfAthleticsBadmintonGymnasticsWrestlingSwimmingTennisShootingBoxingArcheryWinter SportsRobloxFree PicksSkateboardingKho KhoLifestyle LINKS About Us Write For Us Policies Editorial Standards Journalism Awards Fact Check Affiliate Program Careers CSR Privacy Policy Contact Us Edition: English हिन्दी