It is the third oldest club football competition in the world and into its 128th edition this year but the Durand Cup remains a pale shadow of its former self. The tournament that saw some of the biggest names in Indian football fight it out for glory, representing some of the oldest clubs in the country, is struggling to attract both participation and audience.
Despite increasing the prize money to a whopping Rs. 75 lakh this year and playing under lights to draw in the public, four of the 12 teams in the fray are from the services – the organisers of the tournament – and a lot is left to be desired. Despite free entry, hardly anyone is aware of the tournament. > Read: Shivajians go top with second win, Dempo ekes out draw
For the first three days of the competition, there was no information at all on the matches being played at two different venues despite repeated attempts to contact the concerned officials. Even the starting line-up was not available at the venue and no one was aware of it either.
A hunt around the Ambedkar Stadium for Room No. 24 finally led to a temporary office set up by the organisers and team information. “We have all the information but no clue on who all to send it. We have not been briefed about it, we are adding people to our list as and when they contact us,” was all they could say. A sad climbdown for what used to be one of the most prestigious tournaments on the domestic calendar for Indian football.
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