Shillong, July 26, 2025: Shillong’s Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, yet again witnessed history as Shri Conrad K Sangma, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Meghalaya, inaugurated the 134th Indian Oil Durand Cup, 2025. Amidst a dazzling opening ceremony on Friday, at the newly renovated Jawaharlal Nehru stadium, Asia’s oldest Football Tournament kicked off, with a Group E Match between the homegrown Shillong Lajong FC and Malaysian Armed Forces (ATM FA). Notably, this is the second consecutive year that the Durand Cup is being hosted here at the capital city of Meghalaya.
Dignitaries gracing the ceremony were Shri Conrad K Sangma, Hon’ble Chief Minister; Shri Kyrmen Shylla, Hon’ble Minster, Shri Shakliar Warjri, Hon’ble Minister, Sports and Youth Affairs Department ;Revenue & Disaster Management department; Shri D P Wahlang, IAS, Chief Secretary, Government of Meghalaya; Dr Vijay Kumar D., IAS, Commissioner & Secretary, Sports and Youth Affairs department; Lt Gen R.C Tiwari, General Officer Commanding in Chief, Eastern Command (PVSM, VYSM, AVSM, SM, GOC in C Eastern Command); Air Marshal Surat Singh, Air Officer Commanding in Chief, Eastern Air Command and Lt Gen Sanjay Mallik, Sena Medal, General Officer Commanding 101 Area (SM, GOC’ 101 Area), among other senior officers from the Armed Forces and Officials from the Government of Meghalaya.
Ahead of the kick-off, the Hon’ble Chief Minister, along with Hon’ble Sports Minister and other dignitaries, met with the players and symbolically launched the Group E matches, all of which, including the quarter-finals and semi-finals, will be held in Shillong.
The ceremony featured a slew of programmes with an air show by the Indian Armed Forces and captivating performances, including a Kalarippayattu display, a para motors show, and motorcycle stunt performances, leaving the spectators amazed. Cultural highlights included a rendition by the Army Pipe and Jazz Band and a dance performance to “Badloo Ram Ka Badan” by the boys of the Assam Regimental Centre. Renditions from Meghalaya Grassroots Music Project (MGMP) Artists captivated the audience with their performances.
With the slate of hosting the upcoming 39th National Games in 2027, Meghalaya is in the path of a sporting revolution. The Government of Meghalaya has launched and introduced various programmes and incentives to boost its sporting ecosystem. With 24,000 athletes tested under STAR program, sports scholarships, totalling Rs 5 crore have been awarded to 618 athletes across 28 disciplines. More than 10,000 footballers are being trained as part of Chief Minister’s Mission Football 2.0. Moreover, sports infrastructural projects amounting to Rs 1,500 crore to develop and upgrade 518 sports facilities by 2028, are already on-going.
Hosting the Durand Cup 2025, consecutively for the second year, reflects not only the State’s consistency in hosting bigger football tournaments like Durand Cup and International matches like the AFC Qualifiers, but also, are a testament to its growing sporting prowess, all leading towards making Meghalaya, India’s Football Capital.