Durand Cup
|
Asia's Oldest & Third Oldest in the World[1] | |
| Founded | 1888 |
|---|---|
| Region |
 India |
| Number of teams | Varies |
| Related competitions | I-League |
| Current champions | Army Green ( 1st title) |
| Most successful team(s) |
Mohun Bagan East Bengal (16 titles each) |
| Television broadcasters | DD Sports |
| Website |
www |
 2016 Durand Cup | |
The Durand Football Tournament or Durand Cup is a football competition in India which first held in 1888. It is co-hosted by the Durand Football Tournament Society (DFTS) and Osians[2] All the matches are free-of-cost for spectators, and the winner gets ₹ 50 lakh.[3]
The Tournament is named after its founder, Sir Mortimer Durand, Foreign Secretary in charge of India from 1884 to 1894. Sir Mortimer was recuperating from illness at the leading hill station of British India, Simla in northern India. Having become conscious of the value of sport as a means to maintain health, he decided to present a prize to encourage sporting competition in India. At first it was effectively an Army cup, and largely the preserve of the British Indian Army troops in India, but over the years it widened its appeal and opened up to civilian teams, until it became a more open and conventional sporting contest. It is now one of the leading prizes in Indian football. The final major administrative change was when the Army passed on the actual running of the Tournament to a civilian administration in 2006. The Army presence is maintained by the participation of several military teams, including an Army XI, which won the competition as recently as 2005.
The Raj Era
The Durand Tournament was initially a military affair, open to the Army in India: the British Army, the regular Indian Army and other Indian military units, such as Provincial frontier-security regiments and the Volunteer regiments of the reserves. In practice, however, the Indian Army traditionally preferred field hockey to football, a fact which has been evident from the Indian and Pakistani dominance of that sport in international events such as the Olympics. The exception to this tradition were the Nepalese men of the Brigade of Gurkhas. Initially, this tended to leave the field open to the British Army until football's popularity took hold and it became the more universal sport it is today. After the Second World War, the British Army left India and the tournament was opened to non-military teams to maintain the level of competition.
The initial matches were played in Dagshai, which is actually a short distance outside Simla. The inaugural Final of the Tournament, in 1888, was a Scottish derby, with the first name on the trophy being the Royal Scots Fusiliers, who beat the Highland Light Infantry with a score of 2-1. The Durand Cup has been suspended twice, due to the two World Wars.
Post-Independence
In 1940 the venue was transferred to New Delhi,and it is now held at the Ambedkar Stadium in the city. Following India's independence in 1947, the tournament was hosted by the Indian Army, with Durand Football Tournament Society being headed by three Service Chiefs.[4]
The most successful teams are currently East Bengal and Mohun Bagan, with 16 wins each, accounting for no less 32 cup victories over the years. With the eclipse of high-profile teams from Hyderabad, since 1970 the Durand Cup has been won mostly by teams from Kolkata, such as East Bengal and Mohun Bagan, or from the Punjab, such as the Border Security Force and JCT Mills. Mohun Bagan also won the first title of the new Millennium. In recent years, however, Goa has also produced a run of winning form. In 1997 a team from the south won for the first time, thanks to FC Kochin. In 2002 for the first time a team from Mumbai won a repeat victory, when Mahindra United won its second title, following its 1998 win. In 2003 Goa matched this feat, when Salgaocar added to its 1999 victory. In 2005 another Goan side, Sporting Clube de Goa, missed the title by a whisker when the Army XI produced an upset to win, but the following year was undeniably Goan when a third Goan team, Dempo S.C., thrashed JCT 2-0 in the 2006 finals. Recent seasons has been dominated by yet another Goan team: Churchill Brothers. They won the tournament three times: in 2007, 2009 and 2011, and narrowly missed a hat-trick, as runners-up in 2008; they were also runners-up in 2001-02.
The winning team is presented with three trophies: The President’s Cup (first presented by Dr. Rajendra Prasad, the first President of India); the Durand Cup (the original challenge prize, which is a rolling trophy); and the Shimla Trophy (first presented by citizens of Shimla in 1904 and, since 1965, a rolling trophy).
Despite being the de facto Indian counterpart to the FA Cup in England, its winners do not qualify for Asian Football Confederation tournaments. The I-League and Federation Cup (League Cup) are the only ways to qualify for the Asian cup.
India's armed forces deserve credit for keeping the Durand Cup tradition alive over the decades.In 2006, Osians, the art house, took over the running and management of the Durand Cup. Prize money, TV coverage and the quality of the football souvenirs produced have improved dramatically.
Results
Finals performance by team
| Finals appearances |
Team | Wins | Losses | Win % | Last win |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27 | Mohun Bagan AC | 16 | 11 | 59.25 | 2000 |
| 26 | East Bengal Club | 16 | 10 | 61.54 | 2003 |
| 9 | Border Security Force | 7 | 2 | 77.78 | 1988 |
| 11 | JCT Mills | 5 | 6 | .454 | 1996 |
| 7 | Black Watch | 5 | 2 | .714 | 1920 |
| 6 | Highland Light Infantry | 5 | 1 | .833 | 1895 |
| 7 | Hyderabad City Police | 4 | 3 | .571 | 1954 |
| 6 | Lancashire Fusiliers | 4 | 2 | .666 | 1922 |
| 6 | Mahindra United | 3 | 3 | .500 | 2008 |
| 4 | York & Lancaster Regiment | 3 | 1 | .750 | 1930 |
| 5 | Churchill Brothers SC | 3 | 2 | .600 | 2011 |
| 3 | Salgaocar Sports Club | 3 | 0 | 1.000 | 2014 |
| 4 | Border Regiment | 2 | 2 | .500 | 1937 |
| 3 | Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) | 2 | 1 | .666 | 1907 |
| 3 | Gorkha Brigade | 2 | 1 | .666 | 1969 |
| 3 | Royal Scots Fusiliers | 2 | 1 | .666 | 1912 |
| 3 | Sherwood Foresters | 2 | 1 | .666 | 1928 |
| 2 | King's Shropshire Light Infantry | 2 | 0 | 1.000 | 1933 |
| 2 | Madras Regimental Centre | 2 | 0 | 1.000 | 1958 |
| 2 | King's Own Scottish Borderers | 2 | 0 | 1.000 | 1892 |
| 2 | South Wales Borderers | 2 | 0 | 1.000 | 1901 |
| 4 | Mohammedan Sporting Club | 2 | 2 | .250 | 2013 |
| 1 | FC Kochin | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 1997 |
| 1 | Prayag United S.C. | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 2010 |
| 1 | Air India | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 2012 |
| 1 | Army Green | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 2016 |
References
- ↑ durandfootball.com
- ↑ "The 121st Osian's-Durand Cup to Kick off Tomarrow". Ministry of Defence, Press Information Bureau. 20 August 2008. Retrieved 2014-08-16.
- ↑ Iyer, Satyanarayan (July 15, 2014). "Durand Cup football tournament to be held in Goa in October". The Hindu. Retrieved 2014-08-16.
- ↑ "About us". Durand Football. Retrieved 2014-08-16.
- ↑ "Army Green beat Neroca FC to win Durand Cup". Times of India. 11 September 2016. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
- ↑ "Durand Cup Football: Army Green Crowned Champions After Shoot-Out". NDTV. 11 September 2016. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
External links
- Durand Cup website
- Durand Cup on Facebook
- List of past winners and runners up
- RSSSF.com - India - List of Durand Cup Finals
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