3 trophies of Durand Cup reach Kokrajhar

New Delhi: The three unique trophies of Durand Cup which were jointly flagged off on a 15 cities tour on June 30, in Delhi by Chief of Army Staff General Manoj Pande, Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal VK Chaudhary, and Kalyan Chaubey, President, AIFF arrived at Kokrajhar, the fourteenth stop in the tour. Before reaching Kokrajhar, the trophies have already visited the cities of Dehradun, Udhampur, Jaipur, Pune, Mumbai, Karwar, Ezhimala, Kochi, Guwahati, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Shillong. Trophies will also visit Kathmandu and Dhaka, before flagging-in at Kolkata, the venue of the finals. The 132nd edition of the reputed Durand Cup football tournament, organised by the Indian Army will feature 24 top teams including two foreign teams from Bangladesh and Nepal. Durand Cup is the third oldest football tournament in the world and oldest in Asia and India. It is also the season opener for the football season in India. Tournament is set to kick off on August 3 at Kolkata with Kokrajhar hosting 9 matches including one Quarter Final Match. The first-time inclusion of the city as Durand Cup venue goes on to show the aspirations of Kokrajhar.

Kokrajhar district at the western edge of Assam and abutting Bhutan which is to its North, has come a long way from being known as the most dangerous place in Assam to an aspiring town looking into a bright future where peace has taken firm roots now.