Kolkata,: The Durand Football Tournament was regarded as the blue riband tournament of India, according to data with National Archives of India published on October 27, 1928.
Football was quite popular and widely played in the cantonment areas. To further promote football, an organised structure was set up. The Durand Cup was thus founded in 1888 by Sir Henry Durand.
The Durand Cup in its early years, as per the records with the National Archives of India, was conducted in Shimla.
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“The Durand Cup Football Tournament was mainly contested between British regiments,” the record dated to October 28, 1896 says. “The Highland battalion and 2nd Battalion Highland Light Infantry mainly dominated the first eight years of the Durand Cup competition.”
The October 27, 1928 record of the Durand Cup reveals that the final match was witnessed by several government officials, including the Governor of Punjab, Sir Stuart Symes. “Lord Irwin distributed the season’s trophies. The Sherwood Foresters got the winner trophy,” as per 1928 record.
To ensure full public support, the 1935 Durand Cup committee in its note to the departments wrote that office staff should be granted reasonable leave and facilities to attend the matches. “The committee will be very grateful for the support,” the advisory signed by the honorary secretary of the tournament says. The letter was issued on August 23, 1935, ahead of that year’s tournament that started on September 14.
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The committee also noted three main points for the success of the tournament that year. “Good teams, good weather and support of the Shimla public is necessary to ensure a successful tournament,” the honorary secretary wrote to the departments.
The committee also ensured that children come in full strength, announcing a 50 percent discount in the ticket price for children to any enclosure. The ticket rate for the first enclosure was Rs.12, Rs. 7 and Rs.8 for the second enclosure. For the general stand it was Rs. 4 and for the ordinary enclosure Rs. 2.
Since the Durand Cup Football Tournament was a big attraction in the 1960s, its matches were widely reported in the media.
The 1969 Durand Cup final match between Gurkha Brigade and BSF (Border Security Force), Jalandhar got wide coverage. One of the national newspapers carried two pictures of the final match, which the Gurkha Brigade won by a solitary goal.
Apart from an action picture of the final match, a photograph of the winning team with then President of India Shri VV Giri was posted.
It was in the early 1940s that the tournament was shifted from Shimla to Delhi.
In recent years, after a brief stop in Goa, from 2019, the world’s third oldest football tournament is being held under the aegis of the Eastern Command with Kolkata, widely considered the Mecca of Indian football, as its home base.
Delhi’s Jivanand Upadhyay, who has played for then top football clubs like Garhwal Heroes and Shimla Youngs Football Club, has fond memories of Durand Cup held in Delhi. The top four Delhi clubs got entry in the Durand Cup those days, recalls Upadhyay.
In 1972, Shimla Youngs was on the verge of upsetting Kolkata giant East Bengal, says Upadhyay. East Bengal and Shimla Young’s played out a 1-all draw in the semis.
As per Durand Cup rules there was no extra time or shoot-out to break the deadlock, and the teams played a rematch of 90 minutes the next day.
In the rematch, East Bengal won by a comprehensive margin of 5-0, says the veteran player. “Enthusiastic football fans would stand in long queues to buy tickets to watch the Durand Cup tournament,” Upadhyay recalls.
The 2025 edition of the Durand Cup will be held in five cities, including Kolkata and Shillong