Durand Cup Trophy Tour reaches home of defending champions FC Goa

As
per
information
received
via
a
media
release,
the
Trophy
Tour
was
flagged
off
from
Kolkata
on
July
19,
travelling
to
Guwahati,
Imphal
and
Jaipur
before
arriving
in
Goa.

After
a
two-day
tour
in
Goa,
the
trophies
return
to
Kolkata,
the
venue
of
the
final.

Post
the
unveiling,
the
Trophies
were
put
on
display
at
the
Bambolim
camp
of
the
Indian
Army
and
an
exhibition
football
game
was
also
played
at
the
FC
Goa
Club
ground
in
the
Salvador
do
Mundo
Panchayat.

The
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)
and
the
President’s
Cup
(for
permanent
keep
and
first
presented
by
Dr
Rajendra
Prasad,
India’s
first
President,
in
1956)
continue
their
tour
of
Goa
on
August
3,
with
Trophy
displays
planned
at
the
Dhempe
College
in
Miramar,
the
MES
College
in
Vasco,
at
the
INS
Hansa,
the
Panjim
Church
as
well
as
the
Mall
de
Goa
in
Porvorim.

They
are
then
set
to
return
to
Kolkata
on
August
4.

Durand
Cup
2022,
which
is
the
131st
edition
of
the
prestigious
tournament,
is
scheduled
from
August
16
to
September
18,
with
the
first
game
to
be
played
between
defending
champions
Goa
and
the
runner-up
from
last
year,
Mohammedan
Sporting
Club.

This
will
be
the
third
time
that
the
Gaurs
are
participating
in
the
Durand
Cup,
coming
on
the
back
of
a
stellar
campaign
last
year
that
saw
them
remain
undefeated
throughout
the
tournament.

Durand
Cup
2021:
FC
Goa
reign
supreme

In
the
Durand
Cup
2021
finals
played
at
the
Vivekananda
Yuva
Bharati
Krirangan
(VYBK)
on
October
3,
Edu
Bedia’s
105th-minute
strike
helped
the
Men
in
Orange
overcome
the
challenge
posed
by
Kolkata-based
Mohammedan
to
lay
their
hands
on
the
trophy
for
the
first
time
ever.

This
year,
the
Durand
Cup
has
grown
to
20
teams
from
16
last
year
and
all
11
teams
of
the
Indian
Super
League
(ISL)
have
confirmed
participation.
Five
teams
from
the
I
League
and
four
Services
teams
will
also
be
vying
for
the
coveted
honours.

FC
Goa
are
in
Group
A
alongside
Mohammedan
SC,
Bengaluru
FC,
Jamshedpur
FC
and
Indian
Air
Force.

There
will
be
a
total
of
47
games
in
the
Durand
Cup
this
year,
with
West
Bengal
hosting
Group
A
and
Group
B
matches,
while
Imphal
and
Guwahati
will
host
Group
C
and
Group
D
games
respectively.

All
the
seven
knockout
games
will
be
held
across
the
three
venues
in
West
Bengal.

The
final
will
be
held
on
September
18,
2022,
at
VYBK.

A
symbol
of
India’s
football
history
and
culture,
the
Durand
Cup
is
Asia’s
oldest
and
the
world’s
third
oldest
football
tournament,
held
between
20
top
Indian
football
clubs
across
divisions.

Organized
by
the
Indian
Armed
Forces,
the
Durand
Cup
has
been
the
breeding
ground
for
India’s
best
footballing
talent,
over
the
years.

The
inaugural
edition
happened
in
Shimla
in
1888,
when
it
started
off
as
an
Army
Cup,
open
only
to
the
British
Indian
Army
troops
in
India,
but
soon
opened
up
to
civilian
teams.