Durand Cup

Aug. 7, 2023

Recently, the union Ministry of Defence inaugurated the 132nd edition of Durand Cup in Kokrajhar.

About Durand Cup:

  • It is Asia’s oldest and the world’s third oldest football tournament, in which top Indian football clubs from across the country participate.
  • The inaugural edition took place in Shimla in 1888, when it started off as an Army Cup, open only to the British Indian Army troops in India.
  • The tournament is named after its founder Sir Henry Mortimer Durand.
  • It was begun as a football tournament for different departments and regiments of the Armed forces of India and the princely states.
  • Since independence, the army’s presence is maintained by the participation of several clubs of different regiments of the Indian Armed Forces as guest invitees.
  • The Durand Cup tournament is unique where in the winning team walks away with three trophies,
    • 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).
    • The President's Cup (for permanent keep and first presented by Dr. Rajendra Prasad, India’s first President, in 1956).