Kolkata: The oldest football tournament in Asia — Durand Cup — will host its 135th edition when Mohun Bagan Super Giant and East Bengal FC take the field at Salt Lake Stadium in the first derby of the season on Saturday.However, in the 134 years of the tournament’s existence, Indian women’s football has grown by leaps and bounds, and at the culmination of Durand Cup Trophy Tour in the city on Wednesday, the organisers of the prestigious competition — the Indian Armed Forces — revealed their enthusiasm to include a women’s competition in the coming years.At the ceremonial function and news conference at AOI Vijay Durg, where the tournament’s three iconic trophies were showcased, Major General Dinesh Kumar Singh, vice-chairman of Durand Cup Organising Committee, said they were mulling the introduction of a women’s tournament alongside the men’s event in the near future.“Why leave the girls behind?” was the question on their minds six months ago when they began preparations for the upcoming season, Singh said.“So, this is something that we have already thought about. The issue is how many venues and what kind of facilities (will be available) for it. So probably in the next edition we may have a truncated or a smaller version of the girls’ event,” he added.To add to the expectations, a special women’s exhibition match was organised jointly by the Indian Armed Forces and the govt of Manipur at the SAI Ground in Takyel, Imphal, in the build-up to the main competition.This time, the tournament will see 24 men’s teams compete across five venues, with Ranchi as the newest addition and the Assam matches returning to Guwahati after two editions in Kokrajhar.“We saw the enthusiasm among the people in Kokrajhar. But the state government wanted it back in Guwahati for ease of organisation,” said Lieutenant General Gambhir Singh, Chief of Staff, Headquarters Eastern Command, and chairman of the Organising Committee.Among the dignitaries at the event was chief guest Dr Indranil Khan, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for the Departments of Youth Services and Sports and Consumer Affairs in the West Bengal government.“During the recent FIFA World Cup, we all supported clubs from around the world. Now it is time to unite behind Indian football and our own footballers,” said Khan.Meanwhile, Ranchi will host its first-ever Durand Cup match on Sunday, when Jamshedpur FC take on Defenders FC at Birsa Munda Stadium. Defending champions NorthEast United FC will begin their title defence against Bodoland FC at Guwahati’s Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium on Aug 1. The other cities hosting the premier competition are the football-crazy northeastern cities of Shillong and Imphal.
