Mumbai, 8 July 2023
The Trophy tour for the upcoming 132nd edition of the prestigious Durand Cup Football tournament, was undertaken in Mumbai with great enthusiasm on 08 Jul 23. The three magnificent Durand Trophies were received at the Army Officers Institute (AOI) in Colaba in a ceremony by the Chief Guest, Vice Adm Dinesh K Tripathi, FOC-in-C, Western Naval Command and Lt Gen HS Kahlon, GOC, HQ MG & G Area.
The trophies were flagged off from Colaba and taken across Mumbai for display. They were showcased at the historic Gateway of India and the iconic Marine Drive.
Speaking on the occasion, Lt Gen HS Kahlon, said “It Is indeed an honour to be a part of the celebrations of the iconic Durand Cup Football Tournament. The Indian Army is perhaps the biggest public supporter and promoter of sports and our globally acclaimed athletes are a source of inspiration and pride for the youth of the entire country. The Durand Cup stands testimony to our commitment to football and I am confident that very soon, Indian football too will reach dizzying heights. I wish the Indian Army and the Services team all the very best for their 132nd Durand cup Campaign.”
The three Trophies unique to the tournament are, the Durand Cup (a rolling trophy and the original prize), the Shimla Trophy (also a rolling trophy and first given by the residents of Shimla in 1904) and the President’s Cup (first presented by Dr. Rajendra Prasad in 1956).
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Earlier the trophies were jointly flagged-off from New Delhi for a 17-city Trophy Tour across India on 30 Jun 2023 by the Army Chief, IAF Chief and President of the All India Football Federation (AIFF). Mumbai is the fifth-stop in the tour after the Trophies travelled to Dehradun, Udhampur and Pune. The other cities that the tour will cover include Jaipur, Karwar, Kochi, Ezhimala, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Guwahati, Kokrajhar, Shillong and Aizawl, before flagging-into Kolkata on 01 Aug 2023.
The 132nd Durand Cup begins on 03 Aug 2023 in Kolkata with the finals on 03 Sep 2023. This edition of the Durand Cup will have 24 teams, up from 20 in last edition, including all 12 Indian Super League (ISL) sides. Service teams from neighbouring foreign countries of Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal will also be participating in the legacy tournament, marking foreign participation in the legendary tournament after a long gap of 27 years.
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