Assam: Durand Cup campaign kicks off in Guwahati's Indira Gandhi Athletics Stadium 

North East United FC (NEUFC) will start their campaign today, August 17, in the 131st edition of the Durand Cup Football with the match against Odisha FC (OFC) slated to take place at the Indira Gandhi Athletics Stadium at Sarusajai in Guwahati, Assam.  

The match will kick off at 5:30pm.

For NEUFC, this is a once-in-a-lifetime chance to win a major club honor and end their trophy drought. The Guwahati-based team underwent significant changes in the top management in the hopes of experiencing future success after placing 10th in the previous ISL season. The team's new head coach, Marco Balbul, has already arrived in Guwahati. 

The oldest football tournament in Asia, Durand Cup was launched in the year 1888. This year the tournament will be held across three states.

The matches will be played out in five venues across three states. The venues selected for the tournament are Salt Lake Stadium, Naihati Stadium, and Kishore Bharati Stadium in West Bengal, Khuman Lampak Stadium in Manipur’s Imphal, and Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium in Assam’s Guwahati. 

As many as 20 teams are taking part in the competition including 11 teams from the Indian Super League (ISL), five teams from the I-League, and four teams from the Indian Armed Forces.