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

The legacy
A Purple Beret Story
The Durand cup history dates back to 1888 in Shimla.
It is the oldest football tournament in India and also
the 3rd oldest in the world-after the English and the
Scottish FA cup. It was started by Sir Mortimer Durand,
the then foreign secretary of the British Raj. Sir Henry Mortimer
Durand was born in Sehore, Bhopal State of India on the 14 th of
February 1850 and died in England in 1924. During the Second
Anglo-Afghan War (1878-1880) he was the political secretary
at Kabul and from 1884 to 1894 he was the foreign secretary
of India. In 1893 he negotiated with Abdur Rahman Khan,
Amir of Afghanistan, the frontier between British India and
Afghanistan. This line is called the Durand Line after him.
The Durand tournament was basically intended as ‘out-door
relief’ and recreation for European troops stationed in India.
The British Indian Army was given the charge of running and
organizing the cup. Initially, it was an intra-army cup, where
about eleven different teams used to participate. The Royal
Scots Fusiliers won the inaugural cup by defeating Highland
Light Infantry with a score of 2-1.
Some historians opine that there were two reasons that the
British introduced the football tournament in India. Firstly, it
was their extreme passion for the game and secondly it was
also a way of inculcating camaraderie in the army. However,
notwithstanding the larger objectives, the British cannot be
condemned for pioneering a harmless sports tournament. In
fact, just as we credit them for introducing railways, English
and of course cricket, they need to be given their due for
ushering in competitive football in India.
The Durand tournament has encouraged generations of
Indians to pursue their dream of playing and winning at the
highest level. The tournament is also unique wherein the
winning team gets not one trophy, but three! The Durand Cup
and Shimla Trophy are rolling trophies while the President’s
Cup, first presented by Dr. Rajender Prasad is given to the team
permanently. The tournament was suspended in 1914 due to
World War-I and was revived in the year 1921 and continued
as an All India Inter Regimental Football Competition till
1939 at Shimla. Ever since India’s Independence in 1947, the
tournament is being organized by the Indian Army and is held
history
at the Ambedkar Stadium in Delhi, under the aegis of HQ Delhi
Area. It was in 1940, that the Durand Committee decided to
hold the tournament at Delhi. In the same year, civil teams were
also given permission to participate. That year, Mohammedan
Sporting won the tournament to record the first ever victory of
a civilian team. With the outbreak of World War-II, the Durand
Committee decided to suspend the tournament during the
period of war.
In 2005 the sporting clube-de-Goa missed the title by a whisker
when Army XI produced an upset win. Earlier in 2002/03,
the Army XI lost in the finals to East Bengal club. With the
relegation of sports to a low priority owing to many operational
and counter insurgency commitments, participation of the
Army teams has been quite low key. Mohun Bagan and East
Bengal have shared 32 Durand Cup victories between them.
After the down-slide of the high profile teams from Hyderabad,
the Durand Cup, with rare exceptions since 1970 has been won
mostly by teams from Kolkata -Mohun Bagan and East Bengal,
or Punjab - Border Security Force and JCT Mills, Phagwara.
In 1997 FC Kochin from the South won. In 2002, for the first
time a team from Mumbai, Mahindra United, won the title
twice, while in 1999 and 2003 the Goan side, Salgaocar, won
the trophy twice. The new Millennium’s first title was once
again won by Mohun Bagan. In 2006 it was won by Goa’s
Dempo S.C., who beat JCT 2-0 in the finals. Recent seasons
have been dominated by Churchill Brothers from Goa. They
won the tournament twice in 2007 and 2009, while finishing as
runner’s-up in 2008.
The main aim of the Durand tourney now, is to promote
football in the country by conducting it annually. It is open to
all club teams in the country and conducted under the aegis of
All India Football Federation. This tournament has emerged as
the most prestigious one in the country along with IFA Shield
of Calcutta and Rovers Football tournament of Mumbai. Of
all these it is only the Durand that has managed to preserve
its original character, vision and prestige. The support and
backing of the AIFF, Sports Ministry, Government of India and
the three armed services has been most forthcoming.
The 123 rd edition of Durand Cup was conducted from 17 October
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