Shimla-the birthplace of the Durand Cup and the Indian Air Force ...

What are the future plans to take Durand Cup to next level in the
coming years?
We are looking at building a Durand stadium, the COAS is very
supportive. We will build this within the military authorization.
It will be a multipurpose stadium but only cricket will not played
because the pitch in between hampers football. However, it will
have athletic tracks and would be of international standards.
The land has already been earmarked.
In pursuit of Durand
By Col (Dr) MS Gill
I
took over the position of Honorary Secretary Geneneral
Durand Football Tournament Society (DFTS) in May 2010.
Within a few days of taking over I started interacting with
the GOC, HQ Delhi Area, who also happened to be the new
incumbent to the office as Chairman, Standing Working Committee
of DFTS. The 123rd edition of the Durand Tournament
was scheduled for February 2011 as per the AIFF football calendar.
However, the 123rd edition of the Durand Tournament was all
set to stumble when AIFF changed the scheduled calendar of
Currently the Women world cup football is being played in
Germany, do you also have plans to promote women football?
Yes, woman football is picking up gradually in our country
too. There is some encouraging news that fresh talent among
woman footballers is beginning to make its mark. I am sure that
from next year onwards we may introduce women football in the
Durand format. The idea behind all this is maximum number of
players both men and women should get a credible platform to
showcase their talent.
football (due to unforeseen constraints) and provided DFTS
barely a month to organize the National level event. Notwithstanding,
the GOC, HQ Delhi Area took on this humongous
challenge giving me all the liberty to explore, utilize and move
any and every resource to conduct the tournament. Given
the paucity of time, no financial resources in terms of sponsors
coming forward the challenge seemed larger than life.
Nevertheless in true service tradition under the leadership of
GOC, HQ Delhi Area, the Raj Rif Regiment Centre, Comdt Brig
A K Shukla, VSM helped organise the conduct of the 123rd Edition
of the tournament. The flawless and smooth conduct of the
Durand Cup in such a short span of time attracted a lot of media
coverage. Actually it turned out to be better than ever before.
While we overcame the crisis and preserved the rich legacy
of the Durand tournament the question as how to save it and
carve the future of the tournament lurched on the screen of our
minds. During few further interactions on the subject with the
Chairman, SWC DFTS it was decided that a long term strategy
be put into place for the conduct of the tournament. Working relentless
even after the tournament was over the DFTS has finally
embarked on the long term strategy to ensure the continuity of
the tournament and enhance its visibility. A lot is being put into
place for conducting Asia’s oldest and world’s third oldest football
tournament in an utmost professional manner. Live broadcasting,
logistics, participation, increased prize money, strategies
to make it an attractive sport have been planned and are
being executed on the ground. A few months down the line will
be the deciding factor. Durand will take the envisaged shape
and I am sure our efforts will bear fruit and Durand will earn its
rightful place in the world football fraternity.
The author is the Hony Secy Gen of the
Durand Football Tournament Society
purple beret July 2011 11